Data Backup Is Vital for Your E-Commerce Store

Your e-commerce website is the epicenter of your priceless customer data. But without a consistent backup strategy, all of your user and purchasing data could be lost instantly. In this interview, Ramin Ramhormozi and Sam Francis discuss the vital practice of backups for your e-commerce website.

Sam is a partner account manager at Rewind.com and has worked at Shopify. He shares why backing up your e-commerce website's data is an essential daily practice. Rewind is a Shopify app that backs up your data and stores it so you can recover your site safely and quickly. Data protection and recovery for your Shopify store should be a proactive practice, not a reactive one.

E-Commerce Lessons from a Former Shopify Employee

Ramin: Tell me what key information about e-commerce you learned while at Shopify?

Sam: Well, what I learned that helped me along the way is that everyone's different. Everyone. You can have four shoe stores in a row that are all on Shopify, all on Shopify point of sale. When they go in there, each manager will check a different report. They're going to do a different first step. They're going to need a different feature.

So I think the main thing I learned is you have to start from scratch every time you're talking to someone and every business. You have to understand that just because someone else is doing it that way, it doesn't mean this is the way that you need to do it. Not all foot tracks are laid the same to get the same results.

Data Backup Is Only the First Step

Ramin: So now you're at Rewind. Tell us about Rewind's mission.

Sam: At Rewind our goal is to backup all SaaS platforms. Currently, we are the leading backup solution for Shopify, BigCommerce, Trello, and QuickBooks Online. We offer Microsoft Office 365 hub and, as of today, JIRA.

A lot of times, people believe that all your data is stored, which it is. But the hard part is rewinding it and restoring it and having the power at your fingertips to do this, not having to always rely on a developer or a third party to make sure this happens. And we sit nicely across the board as we don't slow down your front end. We run in the background.

We're real-time backup. And we obviously back up different things per platform at different times, but for Shopify, we are completely real-time. There are certain things we back up every 24 hours. It's not the sexiest app, but when something goes wrong, you can restore yourself within three clicks: we are the sexiest app out there when your store is down, and you're right back up.

Why Every E-Commerce Merchant Needs Rewind

Ramin: Who would you say the ideal merchant is for Rewind?

Sam: Everybody. It really is. Whether you're just starting a store, working with a new agency or something like that, it works both ways. Protect everything you have. I know a lot of merchants that will outsource for work just on the job on contracts and not go through a vetted agency through the Shopify ecosystem.

You're letting these people into your business. You don't know what kind of code they're installing or what they will leave you after. It is also a revenue game. If you drop your store on a busy day on a new product launch, that's lost sales, lost customer credibility - especially with customer credibility and the pivot that COVID has put - everyone's moved on.

If you don't have that niche-specific product and someone can find it somewhere else, the shopping's at their fingertips. So the main merchant for Rewind is anyone.

Your E-Commerce Strategy Should Include Mobile & Immersive Experiences

Ramin: Where do you see e-commerce in the next five to 10 years?

Sam: Everywhere. I think e-commerce is going to be surrounding us everywhere. And it is going to be a fight for people to stand out and be the brand they are.

But in five to 10 years, it's so hard to think about because we get these pivotal things like COVID, where everything has to adjust quickly from in-store pickup to delivery. These need to be baked-in features.

I think we're in a culture right now that's very content-heavy with super-fast transactions. One of the things I did learn was that you want to make the buying process as seamless and as easy as possible for consumers across the board. No matter what vertical or segment you're operating in, the buying process needs to be seamless.

One Tip for Your E-Commerce Strategy: Be Authentic

Ramin: So, if you were standing in front of an e-commerce entrepreneurship class, what one tip would you offer them to help them take their business to the next level?

Sam: Don't look over your neighbor's fence. I've seen so many websites, and they all look the same. But you can tell those that didn't look over the neighbor's fence to see what they were doing and try to replicate it.

Find your own path to success, your own branding. There will be similarities, but you can only learn so much from other people's mistakes. You need to learn from your own mistakes.

And I know it's a hard thing to swallow. I've hated the fail forward thing because I was like, I don't want to fail. When you click on that site, and you see, even if the mouse cursor is different or the shopping cart button is a little different, these little things will get picked up on, and it's going to speak to your brand because it means something to you. And I think more than ever, people are buying a brand.