Why Accurate Data Entry Matters in Your eCommerce Store

Data entry has become a necessary component in streamlining sales and marketing databases. No doubt many online retailers have made it a top priority. However, errors in data entry are inevitable in any business operation. In fact, even the most well-prepared online retailers can fall prey to bad or inaccurate data. 

Errors in data entry are too costly to ignore. According to the Gartner research firm, the average cost of poor data quality on businesses can range between $9.7 million and $14.2 million annually. Moreover, it does not only impact financial resources. It can also damage businesses’ efficiency, productivity, and credibility.

If you are running a small online retail business, you have yet to understand the importance of accurate data entry. Not until a tremendous amount of inaccurate entries wreak havoc on your brand and customer base. 

Key Challenges that eCommerce Stores Face

Data inaccuracy is a real problem to overcome. If you are stranger to keeping your data entry work accurate, then you may come across these challenges:

Price-driven competition

Accurate customer data plays a significant role in the competitive market. Because if you deal with poor customer data, you won’t have a deeper insight into your target audience. It should be noted that understanding your customer is crucial in delivering relevant products. Without it, your online business might get left behind in a price-driven competition. 

Product launch challenges

When you launch your online product incorrectly, you may lose many potential customers. Thus, creating product pages for your new products should not be made on a whim. You need to incorporate accurate data. This includes precise specifications, clear images, and comprehensive descriptions. These efforts may help your customers to feel your products physically. At the same time, guide them towards buying that product. 

Limited access to technology

Many budding online retailers would use manual data entry in handling complex information. Although less complicated, it has a wide range of shortcomings. One of those is its higher error rate. This is because most data input errors are much likely attributed to manual data entry. For this reason, many big companies such as Nokia and Kodak had shifted to automated data entry. This is to reduce the chances of errors in data entry processes.

Inaccurate product information

When your customers receive inaccurate product information, it may impact your business reputation as well as your customer trust. To steer away from providing misleading information, make your product offerings searchable and improve your website’s visual components with appropriate product images.

The above challenges may come as a surprise and may blow up your hard-earned marketing efforts. However, you can counteract these challenges if you are equipped with a knowledge of data entry best practices. 

Why It’s Important to Have Accurate Data Entry

The eCommerce landscape has been generating astounding growth over the years. This is due to accurate data management that paved the way for streamlined product information processes. To further emphasize the importance of accurate data entry, we listed below some areas of your business that are capable of yielding good results if it is tied with accurate data:

Customer Experience 

It is a fact that customers appreciate an online store with accurate data. When your products are accurately described, categorized, and stocked, it helps customers to have a hassle-free way of locating their desired products. They become more confident about their buying decision and more inclined to avail of up-sells and related items they come across. 

Customers tend to gravitate towards online stores with presentable product information. For this reason, it’s crucial to enhance your customer experience by making your site look professional. You can do this with the help of accurate data entry. 

Business Productivity

Time-bound and accurate data entry has a huge benefit in your business productivity. Some of the common data entry errors are time-consuming. If left uncorrected, it can result in lost profits, lost business, and even lawsuits. 

With accuracy in data entry, the job of your employees can get much easier. There’s no need to waste on time finding and fixing data errors. It helps you save money that would otherwise be spent on ineffective decisions. This will also enable your work environment to focus on more important tasks of your business. 

Business Functions 

Your eCommerce business consists of several business processes. These include restocking, sales, marketing, customer support, and shipping. Each one of these operations generates its unique stream of data. Thus, it is important to ensure that you conduct each operation in a best-organized manner. 

Accurate data entry can help in providing you insights into your business operations. When you have an accurate data set of your operations, it’s easy to track and compare their performances. It helps you identify some areas of improvement in your business. This will also enable you to better optimize your eCommerce functions and deliver promising results.

Marketing Strategies

If you want to generate more revenue opportunities, your eCommerce store must leverage the advantage of up-selling and cross-selling tactics. To execute this, you need to track your customer’s purchasing behavior and past interactions. In this pursuit, accurate data profiling of customers can help you develop smarter and specifically targeted marketing strategies. By doing this, you will have a better insight into your competitive advantage and produce more effective marketing strategies.

Furthermore, high-quality customer data allows you to market to the right audience, which reduces both time and cost. In return, sending the right message to the right audience means improving your marketing and increasing sales. Because of this, you can better meet the needs of your customers and keep them engaged with your brand.

Decision-making

eCommerce has always been in a constant state of flux. To keep up with the ever-changing landscape of it, you must leverage on accurate data entry to make more informed and powerful data-driven business decisions. This is because data-driven decision making leads to commercial growth, evolution, and an increased bottom line.

Many business leaders today depend on accurate data. Because it helps them in making plans for the future. With accurate data at their disposal, it’s easy to prepare for any looming business challenges. Also, it’s easy to make necessary changes in their operation for the future. Moreover, it provides confidence in delivering solutions to prevent efficiency losses.

Aid in Online reputation

It is important to note that data accuracy should be observed across your eCommerce store. Otherwise, it could result in higher costs and even potential risks. 

As mentioned earlier, inaccurate entered data can impact your online reputation. In fact, entering the wrong order of a customer, for example, could result in dissatisfaction and loss of money too. Thus, to ensure that such inaccuracies do not happen, it is best to keep your data updated and accurate.

Data Security Compliance

As an owner of an eCommerce store, you must keep all your stored information accurate, safe, secure, and lawful. Whether it is customer details, loyalty schemes, transactions, or data collection, it must be protected from phishing scams and identity theft. Hence, you need to adhere to the Data Protection Act to maintain data accuracy. 

A breach of data protection can be costly. Also, concerned parties in some cases can pursue compensation against your business. To save your business from paying expensive fines, ensure accurate data entry and housekeeping in your eCommerce business.

Ensuring Accurate Data Entry

Maintaining the highest data accuracy is of the utmost importance in any eCommerce business. However, there are numerous challenges in ensuring data accuracy. This is true among small retailers with a limited workforce. A few staff can’t handle a huge chunk of data daily. When this happens, it’s time to think of ways to improve the accuracy of your data.

Outsourcing your data entry functions could be the best way of improving your overall data quality. In this set-up, data entry professionals can guarantee precision in your data. They have software tools like automated error reports to work for you. They also have new data safety protocols and accuracy standards to protect all information in your business. And lastly, they are always open to answer your queries 24/7!

Magellan Solutions has been in the BPO industry for almost 14 years. With our extensive experience in providing back-office support to many small businesses, we can guarantee you exceptional data entry services at a reasonable price. We also offer eBay and Amazon virtual assistance to help you with your eCommerce store. 

Do you want to expand your eCommerce store? Fill out the form below to get a free consultation.