User Experience audit aims to discover usability issues and areas that need to be improved in order to increase user satisfaction. Think of UX on your Shopify website as of the customers when they enter a regular store. Would they rather go to the one that is neat, has intuitive structure and signposts that make it easier to move around and purchase needed products? Or would they choose the store that is a complete opposite?

The answer is pretty clear, so below we share UX recommendations delivered by the SoftwareSupp expert for Pitbullstore.pl, one of the most popular eCommerce in Poland based on the Shopify platform.

Shopify website design – UX best practices that boost sales

The goal of the project: To improve UX design and optimize the Shopify-powered website for mobiles in several areas, especially the product and category page. The objective is to increase the store’s conversion rates and raise overall sales.

Project time:  33 hours

Content of the UX audit:

1. The purpose of an UX audit
2. Description of the methodology
3. Identified Shopify website problems typical for mobile devices + recommendations
4. Summary

Katarzyna Gajewska | Senior UX/UI Designer

I am a UX Designer with over 12 years of experience. I specialize in designing customer experiences based on quantitative and qualitative data. My great achievement was to increase mobile applications’ conversion of one of the largest tour operator by more than 10%. – Katarzyna Gajewska

The purpose of a UX audit

The audit is a complete evaluation of the Pitbullstore.pl website in terms of compliance with the habits and expectations of users. It allows checking whether the product meets users' needs and find out what should be improved in order to increase their satisfaction.

Description of the methodology

The UX audit was conducted on the basis of heuristic evaluation – a method of analyzing a website in terms of heuristics, i.e. general usability principles.

Heuristic evaluation in UX design

The analysis is based on Nielsen's 10 heuristics:

1. Visibility of system status: Keep users informed on what's going on the website. To browse the store and make a purchase, it must be intuitive and somewhat predictable. Customers have their habits that are difficult to change.

2. Match between the system and the real world: Make the system more humane. Use simple, non-technical language and informative icons that users are familiar with.

3. User control and freedom: It happens that customers might click on the wrong button after filling a long form, especially while using a mobile. Let them go back to the last step easy without being forced to start all over again, because in most cases – they won’t.

4. Consistency and standards: There are patterns that website users are used to, and to avoid confusion, it’s better to not change it. The same with buttons – if they lead to the same place on the website, always use the same titles for them.

5. Prevention of errors: It’s better to prevent the problem than fix it. Make sure every information is clear and features are working how they suppose to. You will save the time and avoid customers being upset because of the message they didn’t understand.

6. Recognition instead of recall: Once again, make your website intuitive and design the customer’s path in a way that seems natural to them. Don’t make them remember what to do next or where to go for information they need. Let them recognize elements that lead to the right place.

7. Flexibility and efficiency of use: Remember that the website should be easy to navigate for both, inexperienced and experienced users.

8. Aesthetic and minimalistic design: Include only necessary information and elements that don’t distract the user from the most important actions, such like: sign up, add to the cart or order now. Also, make sure that the titles are readable and there is enough space between buttons.

9. Help users to identify, diagnose and remove errors: To not leave users frustrated or prevent them from leaving the website, design their error experience. Make sure they are aware of it, explain where and why it happened, as well as how they can solve it.

10. Support and documentation: In a perfect world, a well-designed website wouldn’t need any additional explanations. However, don’t forget to give users a space with documentation, tutorials or Q&A that are easy to find, simple and comprehensive.

Analyzed sections of the website

Each section on the website has a purpose and needs to be evaluated from a user and a business perspective. UX design helps to fix problems that customers meet and make their path to purchase easier.

Using heuristic evaluation, the following areas of the Pitbullstore.pl were thoroughly reviewed:

1. Home page
2. Navigation / Menu
3. List of results
4. Product page
5. Shopping cart and order process

Results of heuristic analysis

The result is a report of client’s Shopify website, including identified problems. Each problem consists of a brief description of the bug, its assessment, and detailed recommendations for fixing the issue. Each bug was assessed on 3 levels. It determines how much the problem may disturb the users.

Identified problems:

• Critical error – has such a significant impact on usability that it can completely prevent a user from performing a particular action and, as a result, consequently leave the application, while causing negative emotions. It’s first to implement.
• Serious error – can significantly reduce user’s satisfaction, and if repeated, can prevent the user from achieving their goal and abandoning the application. Second in order to improve.‍
• Minor error – can reduce user’s satisfaction. However, it should not lead to strong irritation and website abandonment. It's worth to pay attention to this mistake, because it can significantly contribute to a positive user experience with the store. It should be improved on the third place, after critical and serious errors are fixed.

Identified Shopify website problems typical for mobile devices + recommendations

The client wanted to create a new mobile-oriented design for the eCommerce store based on the Shopify Plus platform. Below are some problems appearing on the website that SoftwareSupp expert identified and gave recommendations to.

Home page

The first place on your Shopify website clients usually visit is the home page. Make sure their positive experience with the store starts here. Otherwise, they may abandon the shop and never return.

‍Critical error: When an incorrect email address, such as "kg@gmail" is entered, you don't receive an error message, and it's processed without the corresponding information. As a result, the users don't know whether they successfully subscribed to the Newsletter or not.

Recommendation: Introduce error validation into forms, so users are aware they entered incorrect data.

Serious error: The site's banners fill up the whole screen, discouraging the viewer from scrolling down. The user may have the impression that the page ends with a banner.

Recommendation: Shorten banners so that the screen may show a fragment of the next module, encouraging the user to scroll further.

Minor error: Product names, headings and other content are much more difficult to scan when they are written with majuscules (capital letters). It is a bad practice to use too many of them.

Recommendation: To make it easier for users to scan the content on the website, avoid using capital letters in headers, categories, and product names.

Navigation / Menu

Critical error: The most important feature – login – is missing on the navigation bar. Login/My Account should be easily accessible so that registered users may quickly enter their accounts and have easy access to historical data, e.g. the last order. Also, it is a good practice that the customer logs in right away after entering the website, to go through the purchase process easier.

Recommendation: Add in the Menu bar the Login/My Account function.

Serious error: The module "Subscribe to our VIP list" sounds quite mysterious – users don't know what is the VIP list, what are benefits by subscribing to it and is it different from "Join the PITBULLTEAM".

Recommendation: Change the “VIP list” headline to something more clear, explaining what it is and what benefits the user get. Additionally, the two leads, "Join PITBULLTEAM" and "Subscribe to our VIP list", should be separated.

List of results

Critical error: After entering the list of results from a search bar, the user lands on a page with navigation items that take up half of the screen.

Recommendation: Navigation elements in the results list should be structured in a way that takes up as little space on the screen as possible. After entering the list, the user should first view the products.

Serious error: Use a discount percentage next to the product. If this information is missing, it reduces the power of the sale.

Recommendation: If the product is discounted, it's a good idea to display the discount value as a percentage in a visible place. Instead of writing SALE, it’s better to put the sale value in a red block, e.g. "-23%".

Minor error: When the user clicks on the stars, a blue box that appears, seems like an error.

Recommendation: Remove the blue frame.

Product page

Critical error: In clothing eCommerce, there is a huge focus put on cross-selling and upselling. Also, from a user perspective, purchasing two or more items is often more beneficial due to shipping costs, as well as practical - shopping for clothes at one store is just easier. As a result, the "Buy Now" banner may be disadvantageous for both sides.

Recommendation: Put more visual emphasis on the "Add to Cart" button to increase the shopping cart value and user satisfaction.

Serious error: The pattern of "Add to wishlist" function with a filled heart suggests that the product has already been added to the wishlist. However, in this case it's not, which may confuse the user.

Recommendation: Change the design of the add to wishlist function according to good UX/UI design practices.

Minor error: On the product page, the entire screen is taken up by a gallery of pictures with thumbnails. On the mobile version of the website, it's unnecessary, because users browse the gallery by swiping photos to the right.

Recommendation: Remove thumbnails and instead add the product name with number of ratings or/and the price.

Shopping cart and order process

Critical error: When there are more products (more than 3), users don't see the summary, which is the most important information for them in the shopping cart.

Recommendation: Add a summary of the cart value in a visible place.

Critical error: Including additional tools like chatbots in the booking process is an unnecessary distractor and bad practice. The order process should be intuitive and simple enough to avoid contacting the customer service.

Recommendation: Remove the chat widget from the shopping cart.

Critical error: Informational messages should not be highlighted in red. This color in the order process is normally used for error notifications, thus it may confuse the user.

Recommendation: Change the color of the VAT invoice information to neutral.

Summary of UX design best practices on Shopify website

Based on the UX audit and the data contained in the analytics tools, the SoftwareSupp expert recommended explicit steps to follow. By using these best UX practices on the Shopify website, the client can provide a great user experience and boost store's overall sales.

It includes three major guidelines:

• building the site using suggestions provided by an expert, with a primary focus on: fixing errors and optimizing processes on the website, improving UX in all areas, creating new information architecture and introducing personalization
• redesign of the customer area – while it has no direct influence on conversion, it has a huge impact on user experience in the post-purchase process
• connect with Google Analytics other significant website elements worth measuring and optimizing, for example: adding to favorites, login/registration, promotional banners and filters on the results list

Does your Shopify website struggle with abandoned carts, unfinished payments, or no actions performed by users? The first step to take is a professional UX audit provided by a qualified expert. SoftwareSupp allows you to hire a certified freelancer on-demand, use 14-day trial to start work are reduce hiring costs by 10x with safe pay-as-you-go billing. If you want to find out more about our network, go here to see how we stand out from other agencies, platforms and direct hiring.

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Freelancing is a great opportunity if you want to have a flexible schedule, freedom to work from anywhere and liberty to decide what projects you want to take. As much appealing it sounds, there are few things you need to know in order to become a successful freelancer. Our ultimate guide will be very valuable for beginners in terms of finding some useful tips and hacks.

Carla Rodriguez | Pipedrive Expert | Automation | Onboarding training | Lead generation

Divya Sundaraju | Zoho CRM Admin​ /​ Zoho Apps Specialist

How to start freelancing: 6 tips for beginners

It’s never easy to be a beginner, but everyone has to start somewhere. Every successful professional in the world started where you are now. You do, however, have the benefit of a ready-made, ultimate guide on how to start freelancing and precise steps to follow.

1. Start with part-time freelance jobs

It's hardly news that the most difficult aspect of freelancing is getting started. You most likely want to quit your normal work and become independent immediately, but still have an income. It's not as simple as it seems, because the work of a freelancer is heavily dependent on your personal brand and relationships you built. All of this takes time, so the best thing you can do at the beginning is to have some part-time freelance jobs and small side projects. It will allow you to establish yourself as an independent specialist while yet maintaining a cash flow.

2. Define your assets and sell them

You need to understand your most valuable assets as a freelancer and how much you will charge for your work. You sell the clients your time, knowledge and experience. Without a doubt, your hard skills are essential here, but don’t forget that customers are individuals as well. The way you approach them is also important. As a freelancer, you have to be an excellent communicator and seller. If you’re not sure what your strengths are or how to develop them, you can utilize an online tool – CliftonStrenghts Assessment – often known as the Gallup Test. It might help you to determine how to improve your career depending on soft talents you have.

The time is valuable. You know things clients don’t know, and that’s what you charge them for. – Carla Rodriguez, HubSpot & Pipedrive CRM partner

3. Use connections you have

Do a little research to see if someone in your circle needs assistance. Find a person who knows you and reach out to them. Also, don’t be afraid of posting on LinkedIn. It’s often undervalued, yet it may turn out to be an excellent approach to find a work opportunity. Even if people from your network are not seeking for a freelancer, they might share it further. Because of the power of networking, about 85% of job offers aren’t even listed. Take your chance and put yourself one step ahead. You can also use 3 tips from our certified experts to find out more how to find a freelance work and get more clients.

4. Specialize in a certain area

By doing everything at once, you will probably never become an expert. In order to achieve that, first you need to focus on one area of specialization and then move to another one. Also, when customers look for a professional, they usually search for someone to fix a particular problem. That should be a hint for you to concentrate on a narrow expertise.

Start with platforms (or software) you like and feel comfortable with. I spent a lot of time specializing in many platforms, and I lost a lot of time on that. For example, you show on your LinkedIn profile that you are an expert on Pipedrive and Asana. So, that is what you’re going to sell and focus on that. – Carla Rodriguez, HubSpot & Pipedrive CRM partner

5. Develop your skills

Once you’re in the game, it doesn’t mean you have to win every competition. Technology is developing, software is evolving, and customer demands are changing on a daily basis. You need to be up-to-date and constantly improve your skills. There’s always something new to learn, and the more you know, the more issues you can solve for your clients. Join communities, attend business events, take courses, read news on industry trends, and most importantly – listen to your customers.

There’s always learning. There is a constant learning process we have to go through to understand new functionalities and stay updated. I join a lot of conferences because I want to understand market gaps and what I have to learn. – Divya Sundaraju, Zoho CRM Admin

6. Build your personal brand online

Update all professional profiles and publish your experience over there. Customers always want to see projects you delivered first.

Websites and platform where you can share your experience:

• LinkedIn
• GitHub
• Behance
• Stack Overflow
• your portfolio website

SoftwareSupp also gives the opportunity to build a personal brand and showcase your best projects. If you are a registered network member, you get this extra space online, where you can promote your freelancing services.

Publish your experience on expert communities and platforms like SoftwareSupp. Join the affiliates partnerships and start from there. – Carla Rodriguez, HubSpot & Pipedrive CRM partner

Treat the online space like it was your portfolio when applying for a job. The way you introduce your work says a lot about you as a freelancer. So put a lot of thought and attention into how you demonstrate and describe it.

6. Find a perfect network

Searching for a job can be frustrating for freelancers and clients. Every day and every hour, there are hundreds of offers published online. Using many communities and platforms to promote your services may increase your exposure, but it will certainly consume a lot of time. In fact, the time is what you sell, so focus more on quality not a quantity. Choose one or two platforms where you feel the most comfortable and begin there.

If you are a beginner freelancer, but you are a professional in your field, you might be interested in joining SoftwareSupp. We are an elite network of freelancers delivering top-quality services. You can register, get certified and have access to work opportunities from all around the world.

Effective communication: 3 rules how to talk to freelance clients

The golden rule of a successful deal is a communication. If you don’t set up the goal clear, you might end up with the project your client doesn’t want, and you just spent a few days working on it. To avoid it and save your valuable time, follow these 5 tips from experienced freelancers. Make it a work habit and get benefits from the effective communication between you and clients.

1. Invest your time to build trust

There is a lot of pre-sales job that you need to do. You need to invest your time, because after the first call you probably won’t get a project. Maybe after two or three meetings, you receive an actual offer. – Carla Rodriguez, HubSpot & Pipedrive CRM partner

Compare your freelancing services to those in another industry. When you walk into a luxurious store, they ask you many questions to find the finest product for your needs. You probably remember at least one situation, when the cashier was very attentive, suggesting different solutions and after that you didn’t want to go anywhere else. Try to apply this idea onto your services and build trust with customers.

The scope is really important, but most of the time I work on requirements gathering. I write down the scope and give it to clients because they really don’t want to invest their time in preparing it. – Divya Sundaraju, Zoho CRM Admin

2. Talk in details

Make sure your clients understand everything you’re going to do. Explaining might take more time at the beginning of the project, but you will save it later. Talk in details about what they struggle with to understand what they really need. Establish goals and describe what exactly you’re going to do and why.

Sometimes I have to explain things to customers in the most detailed way possible to make sure they understand what’s the scope of the work and that I’m not going to do anything extra beyond that. Otherwise, the project might keep on extending. – Divya Sundaraju, Zoho CRM Admin

Also, estimate the time of the whole project and each particular task. By doing so, you avoid a situation in which your client might leave unhappy or unwilling to pay once the job is done.

We give the customers terms and conditions, because in general freelancers don’t have any regulations. Clients assume we will do everything they ask for, but that's not the case. There have to be clearly defined terms of what we’re going to work on. – Divya Sundaraju, Zoho CRM Admin

3. Create a detailed scope of the project

You need to scope the job you’re going to do very well. Sometimes the person that contacts you, isn’t ready for that, so in that case write down everything about the project or define the goal. – Carla Rodriguez, HubSpot & Pipedrive CRM partner

The scope of the project is more than just an outline of main goals or tasks. Consider it a contract you’d sign with the customer. A detailed scope saves you time and avoids situations when the client expects you to do something you didn’t talk about before. Moreover, it shows the customer that you are the professional who knows what is doing. Remember that clients are not experts, and they don’t need to be – that’s why they hire you.

If the scope is not there, it’s very difficult to get the job done, because when you’re halfway done the client might come and change things. It’s better to establish what is going to be done at the beginning because it’s much easier later. – Divya Sundaraju, Zoho CRM Admin

How to find more freelance clients

You might wonder where to find your new freelance clients and how to contact potential customers to make a good impression. Even as a more experienced professional, who already made some contacts, probably the worst thing to do is to stop looking for opportunities to grow. There are cases when cross-selling or up-selling are not going to work for you, and that’s why you need to think how to successfully develop your customer base.

1. Use your network and get a recommendation

They say go big or go home. However, in this case, before you go big – start with people you already know. For example, friends you made in college, former employers or colleagues from your past jobs. You never know, maybe they are looking for someone to hire, or they know someone else that offers a freelance work. Also, don’t be afraid of asking. Some clients don’t even realize there is a way to improve their work. Be one step ahead and come up with an idea how to help them grow their business.

“First find a person who knows you and try to do the first implementation, build trust and the sale is going to come.” – Carla Rodriguez, Hubspot & Pipedrive CRM partner

2. Build relationships

Go slowly but surely. Don’t forget to be persistent and patient. It takes time to grow a freelance clients base and build trust. In the end, it’s all about relationships. Happy clients will come back and probably recommend you to other people.

“Some people say freelancing is awesome – it is. But it’s also difficult because you need to keep on finding your clients all the time. Sometimes you are very busy delivering, and you’re not haunting or talking to new clients. There’s a point you struggle because you don’t see a cashflow.” – Carla Rodriguez, Hubspot & Pipedrive CRM partner

“It took about 8 months for me to build a client base and work from there. Right now, it’s been almost a year and a half and I have a set of clients that I regularly work with.” – Divya Sundaraju, Zoho CRM Admin

3. Use platforms and expert communities

If you want to get more freelance clients, go where you can find other freelancers and experts. Engage, share your experience and knowledge, show your projects and ask for opinions. There are platforms like SoftwareSupp that can connect you with a customer or expert communities, for example on Facebook, where you can also find clients looking for an answer for their problem.

“SoftwareSupp has been very helpful with finding clients. I’m not doing marketing by myself, and I’m actually not spending time on finding projects, but still there are projects coming.” – Divya Sundaraju, Zoho CRM Admin

“The most difficult part is to start the freelance with a client. Platforms like SoftwareSupp allow new people to start. They don’t have to quit their job, they can have a fixed amount of money and new projects on the side.” – Carla Rodriguez, Hubspot & Pipedrive CRM partner

Clients’ point of view  – customer’s pain points you should know about

To find freelance work opportunities and get more clients, try to put yourself in their position. If you know better what customers are looking for and what are market gaps, it will be easier for you to outstand from other freelancers.

Clients very often don’t have enough time to look for freelancers in various places. They are busy with developing their business, and they want to hire experts on-demand for short-term projects as fast as possible.

Sometimes when customers look for professionals to hire, they are sent away because of the long waiting time. That’s why they often go for platforms and websites that offer a freelancers’ base full of experts ready to start working. For example, SoftwareSupp allows a client to publish the project and wait until the best, most matching, certified freelancer is assigned to it.

Let’s be honest, who’s not scared with trusting people met online, especially when money is involved. Seeing that customers are careful when choosing a freelancer to work with, use platforms that allow to verify your identity. Also, make sure that all your professional profiles, for example LinkedIn account, are transparent, easy to view, and they demonstrate your skills.

How to increase productivity as a freelancer

When you’re a full-time freelancer with regular customers, it’s time to think how to boost your efficiency, work smarter and better. Below you will find 3 hacks from experienced CRM freelancers on how to improve your work and stay motivated.

1. Hire another freelancer

You may be wondering why you should hire and pay another freelancer, but the answer is actually rather simple. Hiring an assistant, accountant, lawyer or other professional can help you save time and keep clients loyal. There are cases when the customer may ask you to do something you don’t feel specialized enough in, yet it’s still worth to invest in hiring someone else than deny the client.

Sometimes I hire other freelancers that I know, or I go to some platforms to find them. If my client wants something I don’t know how to do, I don’t want to lose them, so I hire another freelancer to work with me. – Carla Rodriguez, HubSpot & Pipedrive CRM partner

You need a project management view. That’s why I hired a Project Management Freelancer to work with me. You need to be organized because sometimes clients don’t have a knowledge, they ask questions on the way you’re doing the project and that’s when you lose the time and money. – Carla Rodriguez, HubSpot & Pipedrive CRM partner

2. Keep a work-life balance

When you are self-employed, it’s extremely difficult to set limits and respect them. As a freelancer, you work for your own success, but remember that maintaining a good work-life balance makes you more effective and motivated to do your job well. Spending most of your time at work can lead to frustration, burnout, and even health problems. To avoid this, pursue your interests, spend time with your loved ones, take care of your condition and don’t forget to go offline from time to time.

Every 25 minutes I take a break and then go back to work. I don’t work on weekends. That’s a strict no-no. If I had to work on the weekend, that would only be for the customer that is not available to meet during the week. – Divya Sundaraju, Zoho CRM Admin

3. Take breaks

You might not believe, but actually breaks increase your productivity and professionals know about it very well. Usually, it’s recommended to take a break every 60 minutes, but you need to figure out what suits you best. Sometimes when you feel the flow you can work for a few hours straight, but otherwise don’t forget to move a little, go on the fresh air or take a nap if you need it. As a freelancer, you don’t have core hours, but you certainly need to set some rules.

Once I finish a call, I always take at least a 15-minute break for myself and those who are around me. I make sure I have enough time for lunch breaks with family. That’s what I’m very particular about. – Divya Sundaraju, Zoho CRM Admin

4. Don’t waste your time and use reliable platforms

There are many websites with job offers and platforms that connect freelancers with customers. It’s usually very time-consuming to actually find a project and start working on it. First you need to browse through hundreds of work opportunities, send offers to clients, wait for the reply and then proceed with next steps that will eventually lead to get hired.

SoftwareSupp saves your time and energy by matching your expert profile with the project and customer that is looking exactly for a person like you. Here you can find out how SoftwareSupp stands out from other agencies, freelance platforms, and direct hiring. If you are interested in joining our elite network of certified freelancers and start working in 24 hours, see a short guide how to become a SoftwareSupp expert.

You probably heard somewhere that it’s useful, and it could improve your company’s performance. But maybe you are still asking yourself – what is a CRM and how can it help your business. Don’t worry, we did research for you. We asked certified CRM experts to share their opinion if it’s worth to adopt CRM management system, especially if we talk about small businesses. The discussion took place at the “Freelancing and CRM development” webinar ran by SoftwareSupp team.

Carla Rodriguez | Pipedrive Expert | Automation | Onboarding training | Lead generation

Divya Sundaraju | Zoho CRM Admin​ /​ Zoho Apps Specialist

What is a CRM and how does it work?

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a cloud-based tool, system or software, that helps to organize and manage the communication processes between your company and customers. It accumulates all client’s activities in one place, what makes it easier to analyze it and make improvements if they’re needed. It gathers data such like: e-mails, social media interactions, phone calls, web browsing.

We can compare a CRM to the big, smart warehouse, but instead of physical products, it stores every past and current information about customers, their preferences and questions along with the notes and goals established by the company. On the market, there are various CRM software products and platforms providing key features that your business need. They usually give the opportunity to:

• manage contacts and leads you gathered
• track emails and integrate with Gmail and Microsoft Outlook
• forecast sales and estimate the income
• handle internal communication smoothly
• get analytics on easy-to-use, clear dashboard

Is it possible to manage a business without a CRM

#1 Digitalization gives the advantage 

Nowadays, it’s impossible to not put into your business any technology at all. Not only medium and big companies need it. Even if you are running a small business, if you want to compete, you need to digitalize it. At least a little at the beginning.

“Now you have LinkedIn, you have all your contacts talking on social media and different communities that are digital. So the source of your business is also digital. And from that point you need to start digitalizing and automating. It’s not possible anymore to not have even one tool that works”. – Carla Rodriguez, Hubspot & Pipedrive CRM partner

#2 Business needs and a budget first

You don’t have to start using all available tools at once. First, think of your goals and budget, then try to find tools that respond to your needs the best.

“The important thing is which tool you need and for that you need to define your processes, business needs and a budget. You’re not going to go, for example, for a HubSpot or a Salesforce if you need something smaller”. – Carla Rodriguez, Hubspot & Pipedrive CRM partner

#3 Focus on KPI’s instead of wasting resources 

If you’re at the beginning of developing your small business, and you think that you don’t need a CRM, that’s okay. You know your capabilities the best. But you need to know that CRM is for sure helpful, and it’s considered a must-have for most companies. Your biggest resource is time, and time equals money. By using the CRM, instead of wasting it, you can focus on how to reach your key business objectives.

“At certain times, a business doesn’t need a CRM, but that will be for a very short time. A conversion from a hot lead to a warm lead, the time frame itself, is a change of lead. So in that scenario, for a sales person to handle a lead with proper follow-ups, a CRM would manage it. With Excel Sheets, they might not be able to respond to a reminder, or they would even forget to set up a reminder to reach out to that particular customer”. – Divya Sundaraju, Zoho CRM Admin

#4 Don’t miss opportunities

CRM is still growing, and it has a huge product development. It depends a lot on new technologies entering the market, trends, customer’s changing needs and behavior etc. CRM can support the business with easier processes, like lead generation and e-mail automation, or more complex mechanisms (e.g., management of interaction history and escalations). If you feel your business can grow more, don't miss the chance. CRM might help you to save the time in certain areas while you focus on advancement and new goals.

"When the business is going to look out for the CRM, it's good to engage with the CRM expert, so they can give them the right inputs. That's when the business is going to make the right decisions, because some applications might be too much or too little for them". – Divya Sundaraju, Zoho CRM Admin

Hear what certified CRM experts say

This guide is a part of the below ultimate guides:
How to Start an Online Store using Shopify and integrated software
10 Best E-commerce Software Solutions — The Ultimate Guide to Growing Your Online Store‍

Google Tag Manager, or shortly saying GTM, is a free management system that allows to track activity across your website or app. It’s easy to install, control and change various data-tracking codes. Using it can provide you insights that can help to avoid bugs, improve the customer’s journey and boost your online store’s efficiency.

Adding Google Tag Manager to Shopify checkout - project’s details

The goal of the project: Adding Google Tag Manager to the Shopify checkout page and order confirmation page, so it allows Google Ads conversion tracking

Project’s scope:

• Testing the tag installation
• To confirm checkout pages to track
• To report what Google Tag Manager events to add
• Monitoring Google Tag Manager for 3 days
• To add GTM to the Shopify checkout page

Project time: 7 hours

Mark Tristan Patena | Shopify ​/​ Shopify Plus Expert

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“I have developed 500+ websites for individuals​,​ small or medium companies​,​ and large corporations across the globe. What I most enjoy about my work is helping people to craft the online presence of their business. The creative challenge​,​ together with the technical challenge​,​ is very rewarding.”

What are the benefits of using Google Tag Manager

• it can improve your site speed
• you get access to a preview mode that is useful for testing and debugging
• it provides faster implementation of new features
• you have a full confidence in the data you collect
• it’s a free, quick and easy tag deployment process, for example in AdWords Conversion Tracking, AdWords Remarketing and Google Analytics

Google Tag Manager integration to track conversions

“Our Google Tag Manager is correctly working on the website​,​ however it doesn't work in checkout.” - Oakywood, the client

The client was seeking for some assistance on the flow of their Google Tag Manager. For some reason, the tag didn’t reach the checkout page. I first checked the Google Tag inside Shopify and I found several duplicate tags which were outdated. On the front-end, one necessary tag was running. However, upon transitioning to the actual checkout page, the tag was gone. Oakywood provided me a new tag they wanted to use, so I could remove the other one. The fact that they use Shopify Plus, gave me the extra privilege to modify the current checkout.liquid template.

A short guide how to add Google Tag Manager to Shopify Plus store

1. First, make sure you have access to checkout.liquid file. If, for any reason, you don’t have access to this file in your theme code – contact Shopify Plus Support to get it.
2. Once you have it, use Shopify’s integration for Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel instead of using them with Google Tag Manager. 
3. Copy the code snippets that are provided by Google Tag Manager into your theme.liquid and checkout.liquid the files.

New global site tag – project's result

A tag is a snippet of code that usually is designed to send information from the website to a third party, such like Google Analytics or Google Ads. In this project, an approach to the best Shopify practice has been implemented up to the order confirmation page. It took 3 days to properly assess and test the new global site tag (gtag.js). After that, we officially got the confirmation that the tracking is working and data being tracked are sending correct values.

If you are looking for a multichannel commerce experiences for B2B and B2C customers on a single platform, then Magneto is your best pick. Magento Open Source delivers all basic Ecommerce capabilities and allows you to build a unique online store from the ground up.

There are approximately 170,000 websites built with Magento on the entire World Wide Web. That’s around 1.4% of all websites. Magento is also holding around 3% of the Ecommerce market. Over the years, platform has proven its value for customers. Last year, the global sales using this platform reached over $200 billion. Forrester, a leading global market research company, names the Adobe product as the best for B2B and B2C market.

If you are considering joining more than 270,000 sellers, who have picked Magneto as their main business tool, then we have prepared 10 reasons why this platform of the Adobe Experience Cloud is a perfect ally for enormous, complex B2B/B2C eCommerce processes.

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Mateusz Niziołek | Magento & Magento2 Developer

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#1 Responsive Design

Good web design helps guide your users' eyes, improves your rankings in search engines, but also increase the amount of time that visitors spend on your site. Creating a convenient e-commerce shopping experience is absolutely essential nowadays. It is especially important when it comes to smartphone users, as over 50% of people are using their phones now to shop online.

Having an intuitive, responsive design that will render well both on a large monitor of a PC and on the 6” screen of your smartphone is necessary to improve customer experience. This also leads to easier, faster, and more effective purchases, as well as the improvement of your reputation as a business and a seller.

Along with other advantages, Magneto offers an easy-to-use, adaptive layout that brings a seamless experience. Your revenue grows, as well as the popularity of the business.

#2 All-Inclusive Shop Platform

Do you have a CRM or ERP solution to integrate into your store? Or maybe you offer multiple product lines or brands and want to control everything from one platform?

All that and more is possible with the functionalities brought to you by Magento. You can manage several accounts hassle-free, handling all purchases without a confusion. A history of your sales is available for further analysis, along with credit management and other elements of the experience that help you grow the business.

Magneto allows you for smooth CRM or ERP management on a single platform. Connect exclusive software to stand out and provide premium purchase conditions for every business partner.

#3 Top-Notch Content Staging Opportunities

Improving your Ecommerce order management process begins with automating your sales systems. Using the right tools or sophisticated algorithms may optimize different business processes. One of such solutions is content staging offered by Magento.

If you have product options that need a price or description change once a season, then you can schedule an automatic change – you don’t need anyone to do that manually.  

The platform offers tools for easy and convenient content creation, preview, and publication of various pieces with backlinks for eCommerce pages. Moreover, it isn’t limited to just your product range. The pricing policy, CMS sections, widgets, even whole categories can be changed as you schedule. You also can use other suitable services, for example, retouching studio for creating images. Content staging tool will help you to save both time and money.

#4 Quick and Easy Ordering Process

If you want to run an effective Ecommerce business, you need a streamlined system to manage your orders. It is especially important for B2B due to the wide variety of purchase types.

Magento provides you a system that facilities efficient order processing workflows that will help keep customers satisfied. The easiest way for a buyer to find a needed produc tis to enter its SKU. This alphanumeric code for every item also helps sellers track the sales or restock needs if necessary. Other convenient features include:

• The use of requisition lists for a large order,
• Repeating the previous order for the most convenience,
• Having a merchant handle the order

All of these will improve your sales. Your clients can repeat an existing order in a couple of clicks, which make them order more than they currently need. Those who know what they need from your business can use a quick order tool and skip the search step, going directly to the products they want. A very comfortable customer order journey offered by Magneto will help to grow your business.

#5 High-Quality Technical Support

Potential buyers will leave the page in 5-10 seconds if it doesn’t load or does so slowly. Even the smallest cart mistake or design glitch may make one of your largest potential business partners leave the page.

That’s why Magento has a top-notch technical support that works on keeping your site up and running 24/7. The specialists are working on:

• General troubleshooting,
• Security improvement,
• Cart issues,
• Error messages,
• Slow loading,
• Readdressing issues, etc.
    

With Magneto, you don’t need to worry about anything apart from focusing on increasing sales and improving marketing campaigns.

#6 Credit Limit, Which Improves Sales

What shows a better relationship between a credible seller and a regular buyer than allowing for purchase using credit?

Magneto offers you to manage credit limits to the most important buyers. Make sure those are only the ones you have a strong, trustworthy relationship with. On checkout, they can choose a "Payment on Account" option and repay you when possible.

The platform also provides opportunities to link the limits with your CRM or ERP system for a better experience.

#7 Real-Time Inventory Management

Magneto Smart Inventory system allows easy management of all channels you use for product promotion and sales. You get a real-time display of all necessary inventory data from all links of the supply chain.

This data will help you handle delivery and its cost, as well as provide a better experience to customers. When a partnering business knows how many items are in stock, they see the scale of their future orders. This brings planning benefits to them and financial ones to you.

#8 Customer Segmentation

A unique yet universal buyer experience will bring you revenue, but not at the volumes you might expect. Every client is looking for a one-on-one experience, as if the ads or the shop layout were created just for them.

Magento B2B eCommerce offers customer segmentation – a convenient tool that will adjust the experience for every separate group of buyers. Such an adjustment makes a difference right away.

The segmentation process is mostly automatic. The algorithm analyzes buyers’ behaviors, putting them in separate groups with prepared marketing tactics. It pays attention to:

• The overall buyer behavior,
• The number of products in the cart,
• Types of products there,
• Prices,
• Viewed items.

Personalized customer experience is all about creating a more tailored experience for your business partners. It doesn't just help you to improve the customers' experience, but it helps you to understand them better.

#9 Automatic Quotation System for Various Buyers

Having an effective quotation system is crucial for any online store that works with large orders. Most B2B relations work just like that, and Magento has an extension that allows exclusive quote building.

This eases the process of communication with buyers and helps to develop better business partnerships. The speed and accuracy are important when we talk about such large order volumes. The process of a quote request and negotiation is simple and to the point:

1. A potential client adds products to the cart.
2. They initiate a quote request and/or negotiation.
3. They make a purchase with their credit or another payment method.
 

Such a streamlined workflow makes it more convenient to order from you, which makes your business a credible seller. Automatic Quotation System offered by Magneto will ultimately help you to strengthen communication between existing customers, but also acquire new business partners.

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#10 Determine the Relations of Your Products

Magento lets you adjust the shop (or shops) to the smallest detail. For example, sellers choose the rules, permanent or temporary, as to the product relations. This helps with targeted merchandising a lot, improving conversions and increasing revenue.

The most prominent example of such rules is deciding what products will be seen in the "Recommended" section near the viewed item. By choosing them wisely, you can end up with a much larger order, as many products go together as a perfect combo. Give your marketing and targeting teams a pitch.

Use Magento for the Advantage of Your Business

The platform leads the $6.7 trillion B2B eCommerce industry, and that’s for a reason. For at least 10, to be precise. From the service’s flexibility to incredible tech support, Magento will meet the requirements of the strictest business. In B2B sales, the buyer’s experience matters a lot. The platform creates and enhances it with ease for both sides.

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If you want to find out more about how to develop, integrate and optimize your shop, use a complete eCommerce guide designed by a SoftwareSupp Team or use our platform to find over 40 certified Magneto Developers, who will help you to adopt it and make your business grow. If you are looking for a well-proven software for both B2B and B2C, then you should definitely consider Magneto as your future business platform.