5 Benefits of Using Shopify Flow to Empower Clients

One of the reasons why Shopify is such a popular tool for ecommerce site building, is it’s always growing and improving. As the needs of online merchants evolve, the capabilities of the Shopify platform expand, opening the door for everything from automation to intelligent analytics. 

If you’re using the Shopify Plus ecosystem as a developer to empower and support your clients, you’ll find a handful of additional features available. One of these tools is Shopify Flow, a no-code system (also available on the “Advanced” plan) for workflow automation. 

By teaching your clients how to implement Shopify Flow solutions, you can give them more power to automate everything from customer service, to order management. This means your clients get more value, while you have more time to focus on other aspects of your development career. 

What is Shopify Flow? An Introduction

Before we can dive into the potential benefits of Shopify Flow for developers and clients, we’ll need to outline what this tool actually is. Flow is a Shopify application available to users on Shopify, Advanced, and Shopify Plus plans, as well as those using the Shopify Fulfilment Network. The solution was built to help users automate tasks and processes across apps, and in their online stores.

The event-based feature promises a no-code entry point to automation for merchants looking to cut down on manual tasks. The drag-and-drop interface means you can build custom workflow automations for all kinds of activities. 

The core components of Shopify Flow fall into three sections:

• Triggers: Events responsible for starting a workflow. This could be an event that happens within a Shopify store, like a customer placing an order, or an event within a Shopify app. 
• Condition: The “Conditions” in Shopify Flow dictate whether certain actions will take place. For instance, if you want to give your customers free shipping when they spend over $200, the condition would be the order amount going over $200.
• Action: This is the thing that happens when the conditions of your workflow are met. In the example above, if the amount paid for the order is more than $200, a tag would be added into the account to allow for future free shipping or free shipping can be offered automatically.

To make life easier for beginners, Shopify offers a range of pre-made workflow templates to get you started. These templates allow Shopify developers and their clients to review high-risk orders automatically, automatically restock products, or track crucial information.

The Benefits of Using Shopify Flow for Developers

As an expert Shopify developer, you don’t really need a no-code environment to set up automated workflows. However, that doesn’t mean Flow can’t be valuable to you and your clients. The whole purpose of this technology is to make life easier for Shopify users. 

Here are some of the biggest benefits you can access with Shopify Flow when trying to win clients as a Shopify developer. 

1. Streamlined Automations in Shopify

Probably the most beneficial aspect of Shopify Flow is its simplicity. As a developer, you don’t have to use apps or code to build automations for your customers from scratch. Instead, you can use simple drag-and-drop builders to automate everything from customer service, to tracking orders. 

With Shopify Flow, developers can deliver instant value to their clients without spending a lot of extra time and resources on building. You can even teach your clients how to leverage Shopify Flow themselves, so they can build their own simple automations without your help, allowing you to focus on more complex aspects of store management and development. 

2. Help Customers Build Stronger Connections with Customers

Perhaps more than anything else today, clients are searching for Shopify developers capable of helping them to build powerful CX and UX experiences. The Shopify Flow ecosystem can allow you to set up simple automations for things like customer segmentation. This makes it easier for your end-users to track the customer journeys of different groups of clients. 

Better customer segmentation can allow your clients to deliver unique offers to different customers based on their needs, or drive more effective sales and marketing results. The same solutions can also help with boosting the quality of customer service, by automating which issues are delivered to which employees for management. 

3. Show your Clients the Value of Automation

As a developer, you’re probably already familiar with the growing role of automation in today’s ecommerce landscape. However, there are still countless clients who haven’t discovered the benefits for themselves. Many business leaders are anxious about the concept of using automation for the first time, but with Flow, you can help them to step outside of their comfort zone. 

With Shopify Flow, you can help your clients implement simple solutions to reduce human error when it comes to tracking orders as customer volume scales. You could set up automated pricing and promotional changes, so team members need to spend less time on the back-end on their Shopify store, and can focus more on other strategies for business growth. 

Once you clients start to see the benefits of automation, they’ll likely turn to you for extra guidance on how they can enhance their Shopify ecosystem even further.

4. Provide clients with Extra Services

As the landscape for ecommerce continues to grow, there are more Shopify customers and developers emerging in the space. If you want to get the highest share of customers for yourself and your brand, then you need to be able to provide value beyond anything your competitors can offer. 

Staying ahead of the curve with new features like Shopify Flow ensures you can quickly add automation features to your customer’s Shopify stores to assist them with a range of common tasks. You immediately make your knowledge and expertise more valuable to your clients, and improve the chances that your customers will want to work with you again in future. You might even end up creating advocates for your service who help you to find new clients. 

5. Empower Clients to Be More Independent

Providing your clients with access to tools which allow them to automate various processes in Shopify themselves might seem like you’re taking work away from yourself. However, the reality is that helping your clients to be more independent can be far more beneficial to you in the long-term.

You can hire out your services as a consultant to guide your customers through the initial steps of using Flow, which gives you another earning opportunity, and focus on building long-term relationships with your customers. If you’re working with clients on managing and maintaining their Shopify stores, teaching them how to use Flow could also save you some time in your day-to-day routine, so you can focus on other tasks.

Make the Most of Shopify’s Features

When you’re first exploring the Shopify ecosystem as a developer, it may seem as though some new features are less intended for you, and more designed for the clients you serve. However, learning how to leverage each of the new services offered by Shopify is a great way to make yourself a more valuable part of any team. 

With Shopify Flow, you can add useful automation opportunities into the ecommerce stores you build with your clients, and empower them to accomplish more on their own. Don’t underestimate the power of Shopify Flow as you become a Shopify Expert. 

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