In order to maximize their reach, online retailers use various channels to connect with as many customers as possible. These include online marketplaces, E-commerce websites, social media, etc. These platforms help them tailor their experience to fit what the customers expect and want. This, in turn, helps them generate more sales.
To stay ahead of the game, online retailers need to implement CRM integration so that they can gain as much feedback that they can use and analyze it for insights that can help their business grow.
What Consumers Want
Consumers today are more tech-savvy and more informed than they were at any other time in history. They know exactly what qualifies as good service and what websites are worth subscribing to etc. Hence, it’s important to stay ahead of the curve to meet their expectations and exceed them. It’s not only imperative to keep with the times and offers services that everyone else offers as a default but to introduce things that are being asked for over by swathes of consumers.
E-Commerce and CRM is able to do this by gathering and analyzing the mountains of data that are made available to them when customers make purchases and record their experiences and feedback.
What exactly does a CRM do?
A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system manages the relationship that an online company has with their customers. This includes making sure that the customer can reach the company’s customer support and feedback systems easily and register their complaints, suggestions, compliments, etc. and also that the feedback is put into action to make some much-needed changes when the need arises.
This entails managing a lot of data and analyzing markers within the data of complaints, suggestions, compliments, that are coming up much more frequently than others. All of this, when put to good use, can ultimately benefit an E-commerce company. Not only does it help them retain loyal customers but gain new customers.
Benefits of CRM for E-Commerce Platforms
According to LinkedIn 64.2% of companies surveyed rated CRM tools as having a huge impact on their business practices. They not only improved their return on investment but also drove up their sales significantly.
Here are just some of the ways that a CRM System can make that happen.
Improving Customer Experience
The integration of Commerce with CRM can improve customer experience in a number of ways. You can offer order status updates, inventory checks and tracking of shipments to put the customer’s mind at ease. When they are able to see their shipment being delivered to them every step of the way, they won’t have to inquire about it every few days.
Customer Segmentation
CRMs allow you to separate the entirety of your customer base into various categories. These will be age, gender, income, geographical location, type of job, etc. This way you can take a look into which segment of your customers likes a certain product and which prefer another.
It’s a technique which has helped many companies lock down their niche. For example, in the film industry, many films are now made exclusively for a niche market because they realize where the profits lie. A great example would be the Marvel Cinematic Universe which has changed some of its principal characters so that the films would be permitted to run in China, which is poised to become the largest film market in the world in a few years.
Similarly, retail companies can analyze the behavior and demographics of several of their customers to find out what they like and what they don’t so that they can tailor the experience to their liking.
Centralized Social Media Interactions
Running retail businesses without a social media presence today is folly. This is because social media platforms are where many people that use the internet spend their time. This is why many social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube have all made themselves more commerce friendly.
CRMs are built to take advantage of that and to put you in touch with many customers who can reach you through social media. A lot of CRMs now have social media integration so that you can reach your customers more easily.
Analyzing Payment Data
If your site supports various payment channels, you can take advantage of that information and find out more about your customers. With the right CRM, you can manage everything from invoicing, billing, etc.
Not only that, you can use the analytics to track payments and find out which customers are spending the most on your website and what you can do to bring in more business.
Improving Marketing and Promotion
CMR integration with E-commerce sites can offer a centralized repository of information for customer data. This can enhance a lot of marketing activities from planning campaigns to targeting specific demographics on special holidays, etc. When customers receive very personalized emails, and when they are shown ads specifically tailored for their shopping needs, you will ostensibly get better feedback.
Improving Inventory and Forecasting
When correctly implemented a CRM system can provide data about the most popular products in your stock. This will allow you to use sales data to forecast the demand for said products.
Order Management
You can view and act upon order placement and order processing with things like shipment tracking, delivery, and customer feedback. With this information, you can speed up the deliveries and make sure that your stock is replenished before they are forecast to run out.
Workflow Automation
It used to be that sales managers focused on the transaction and spent a lot of time tracking the activities of the buyer by sending follow-ups. The CRM system automates that process and gathers the information for you.
A customer could have bought a mobile device, and the CRM system could recommend an accessory based on an old purchase or the present one. Another example is sending an alert pertaining to the customers that leave the site without action. You can even send discount coupons and special offers to retain them.
Driving Services after Sales
After sale services go a long way to improving customer loyalty. And that translates into more sales. A great advantage of the CRM for E-commerce businesses is that there is an opportunity for the sales team to address client concerns immediately.
This prevents them from becoming long term problems. If there are errors in order placements and inventory shortages, then they can be taken care of immediately. Sales representatives can be much more effective at understanding customer behavior this way and ensuring that a majority of customers aren’t turned away by shoddy service.
Improving Competitive Edge
Synchronized and automated data transfer can increase the efficiency of a business. This is done by ensuring the correct order fulfillment and communication. It will give your online store a real competitive edge.
Not only can that data give you insights on how to change your delivery routes and how to change business practices, but it can give you ideas on how to build your authority and translate that into sales.
Building Industry Authority
The greatest example of E-commerce dominance can be seen in Amazon. The largest online retail platform in the world is the gold standard for online retail. It’s a giant player in the market which overshadows other websites by a mile. However, their industry authority didn’t just emerge overnight, they painstakingly grinded over many years; even decades of hard work.
The same can be said about Alibaba.com which has emerged as the second biggest player in the industry and now holds the record for hosting the single largest sales day on Earth (Single’s Day in China). They made it a holiday that is now known across China as a shopping holiday, hence raking in the money.
Now, of course, most online retail companies won’t be able to do that, but the point is that CRM systems can help you tap into a customer’s trust even if it is for niche products. However, that trust will translate into huge sales.
Higher Conversion Rates
It is one thing to attract a lot of visitors to the websites, but it’s entirely another to convert them into paying customers. CRM systems will help you add value to the visitor. It will help you design things like curated product lists, custom search categories and wish lists with special discounts for customers.
According to a study done by Business2Community.com, 64% of companies consider CRM software and its processes as an integral part of their sales funnel. Higher conversion rates obviously translate into higher revenue and repeat customers, which is a positive for any platform.
Try Solastis
Solastis is your one-stop shop for a CRM system. It offers automation of task assignments creation of multiple case types as well as basic sequential project management.
Solastis offers you the ability to analyze a case from multiple dimensions and from specific levels so that you can gain insights that wouldn’t normally be available to you. Solastis looks to the customer and the client for feedback and implements their custom requirements so that they get exactly what they need and want.
This is why Solastis is such a great choice for a CRM, it listens to you and gives you exactly what you need to organize your business and automate your business practices for maximum efficiency.