How E-Commerce Companies Are Redefining the Scope of Crm?

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Q. How E-commerce companies are redefining the scope of CRM?

Ans.  To understand the effect of E-commerce first we need to understand what Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is.” CRM refers to practices, strategies and technologies the companies use to manage and analyze customer interactions and data throughout the customer lifecycle with the goal of improving business relationship with customer, assisting in customer retention and driving sales growth.” After the introduction of ecommerce industry or we say the internet a new term has been introduced in CRM i.e. E-CRM. There is no much difference between the two but the basic difference is in addition to traditional method used by companies they have started using all online channels to consistently proving services. Now let’s understand E-CRM in detail.

As discussed above E-CRM is a method through which interaction between business, its customers and employees is created through Web-based technologies. An effective CRM system uses various channels to track customers and make a note that he is satisfied, introduction of E-CRM has increase this as we are surrounded by various devices and all of them  of connected through internet it helps the company to track the activities of the customers which helps them to interact, understand and ensure customer satisfaction.

A typical E-CRM involves collection information about customer through transaction history, click stream and content information. After that it analyzes that information. The biggest benefit of using this method is it helps companies to collect information on real time and make necessary changes as fast as possible.

Evolution of E-CRM

It happened in recent days customer is treated as the King in the early 70’s and 80’s organization use to consider doing a favor by answering few questions. The scenario changed in 90’s after introduction of two new concepts: Deregulation and Internet. This concept brought down the entry barrier which made stores to compete with online startups. Customers has the access to lots of information they were able to compare prices and features of multiple providers which eliminated the widely differentiator i.e. price. The only differentiator left was customer service. Since then customer were given more priority over other factors.

The genesis of CRM lies in Sales Force Automation tools. Some companies took a early step by introducing tools to help sales personnel to become more efficient in tracing their customers. As the focus of companies sifted to customer relationship additional application was introduced to support those areas

Currently there are over 200 CRM software vendors but still the core value of these softwares is centered towards customer relationship. Initially many software focused on improving call-center productivity in addition some application integrate message queuing functionality to provide a common environment for all channels. But now Customer service provides web-based self serving features for companies to offer their customers. Customers can now look basic information by logging in to vendor’s website.

In the era of information, enterprise wants specific and relevant information. Companies are trying to manage relationship with customers, partners and suppliers in a personalized and automated manner. Actual personalization is not easy as every customer has its owns needs and demand.

Different levels of E-CRM

1. Foundational Services:-  It’s the minimum services that need to be given to the customers such as website effectiveness & responsiveness and order fulfillment
2.  Customer Centered Services: - it includes order tracking, product configuration & customization and security.
3.  Value added services: - some extra services such as online auction and online training.  

Benefits of using E-CRM:-

1. Customer relationship, service and support will be enhanced
2. Suitable offers will be provided according to customer behavior
3. Loyalty and satisfaction of customers will be increased.
4. Efficiency is increased and cost is reduced
5. Revenue will increase.

Key trends that will be brought by E-commerce industry that will improve customer service:-

1. Online Self- Service: - Now a day’s customer are busy and often mobile they want their problems to be addressed as quick as possible. To address this demand of customer self-serving technologies has been created which allow customers to find answer of anything they see on the web page with just with a click of a button.
2. E-mail and text push notification: - Many companies has created or installed a system in which the software will automatically send message to customer. For example the system used by Amazon , whenever an order is dispatched the system automatically send a message  about it, and if they have backordered something or inquired about the product they will instantly get a message about it.
3. Messaging App:-  Companies has also started using various chat platform to provide customer services to the customer.
4. Live Chat: - As standards of Customer service is higher and customer want immediate attention to their problem the concept of live chat came into picture. This service has give customer immediate connect to customer service representative.