With the sharp growth of eCommerce stores and m-shopping in recent years, CRM technology has undergone a progressive evolution in the B2C space. Most major CRM solution providers have recognized the emergence of the e-commerce industry as one of the hottest business models, and are now offering scores of features tailored for this industry. If you work in the eCommerce industry, you have come to the right place to learn about the benefits of CRM for eCommerce and Retail Business.
As competition between online retailers becomes fiercer, the need for providing improved customer experience has grown steeply; now, more and more businesses are adopting CRM systems customized for online retail. Nowadays, platforms like Salesforce Commerce Cloud and Magento revolutionize the customer experience and increase your online sales. However, these platforms together with a CRM give you a competitive advantage in your eCommerce business, given you choose the right CRM. This post will explore the many benefits of having a customized CRM for Retail and eCommerce Business.
1. Customer Segmentation
The moment I scroll through my social media accounts after looking up stuff on search engines, my feed is flooded with highly relevant sponsored ads and I end up clicking on most of them. I am sure you have experienced the same. By learning our search patterns, social media displays ads that we are most likely to click. If you are running an online retail business, wouldn’t you want the same with your end users?
At Rolustech, our clients from the retail industry have demanded precise segmented data of their customers in order to provide personalized customer service to all their customers.
By viewing customer groups sorted by gender, interests (fashion, gadgets, etc.), spending history and so on, sales agents are able to communicate with customers in the best possible way.
2. Access to Most Relevant Information
How many customers visit your online store and leave without placing an order or paying for items they added in their cart?
Smart CRM systems give you deep insights into such data so that your team can take appropriate actions before it’s too late. In my personal experience as an Ali Express shopper, I have received many polite reminders from sellers every time I forget to check out an item.
According to Baymard, the average cart abandonment rate is a whopping 68.81%. With a smartly implemented CRM in Retail business, you can take action to convert these visitors into shoppers!
3. Effective Use of Time
Turns out, sales agents are only able to spend 11% of their total time on active selling. Most of the time is spent on administrative issues and problem solving.
A CRM Customization for eCommerce can automate a series of self-service processes that can save your agents’ time and enable them to focus on their main job. Enterprise workflows now need to be smarter and the best way to achieve that is to acquire CRM Consultancy services before opting for a solution.
4. Centralized Social Media Interactions
If you’re running an online retail business, we bet you are not doing it without actively managing your social media pages.
A large part of eCommerce traffic comes through social media referrals and paid campaigns. Social media is also the source of customer queries, and your responses to these queries are how customers judge your customer service.
42 percent of consumers complaining in social media expect a 60 minute response time. Our clients have managed response time much better than that through our Social Media Integrations. Moreover, you can also leverage the powerful tools that different CRMs provide to their customers. For example, for marketing, Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a game changer in any eCommerce business.
5. Payment Data
If your site is supporting multiple payment channels, analyzing payment data at once can be difficult. With CRM, you can manage everything from invoicing and billing to payment failures. You can even integrate your CRM with a payment gateway.
Advanced analytics in CRM can track payment trends, empowering you with the ability to analyze:
- Best revenue sources
- Highest value customers
- A number of metrics that can help you customize your services
6. Order Management
Order management includes steps from lead generation all the way through to revenue. You can view and act upon order placement, order processing, shipment tracking, delivery and customer feedback against each product.
If you are looking for a CRM for e-commerce, order management is one of the most important functionalities to look for. Moreover, if you are just starting out your business, you can also leverage CRM for Startups to get things in order and maximize business efficiency.
Let’s take a look at how we have assisted our clients from the retail industry overcome diverse challenges – A few Case Studies
1. Audio Geer
Audio Geer is an independent manufacturer’s rep firm based in California. It brings over 14 years of experience to the Professional Audio, Musical Instrument, Broadcast, and Audio/Visual markets. Audio Geer was buying equipment from ten to twelve manufacturers and selling it to its clients. Their employees were using excel sheets to manage all interactions with manufacturers and clients. Moreover, they had no prior experience of using a CRM system. As their client base expanded, excel sheets couldn’t handle the burgeoning operations. In order to solve this predicament, Audio Geer approached Rolustech to find out how a CRM could automate their business processes.
2. Refractiv
Refractiv specializes in delivering best of breed cloud, web and mobile solutions to online businesses to drive innovation and growth. They approached Rolustech to develop an iPad app for a leading international fashion house based in the United Kingdom; they needed access to their product catalog in real time i.e. when visiting different retailers.
Conclusion:
So what do you think? Have you decided which CRM to choose for your eCommerce business? Get in touch for a FREE Business Analysis to let us help you choose the perfect tech-savvy, up to date, and state of the art CRM.
Also, be sure to check out our post on the must-have eCommerce essentials. As a Certified SugarCRM Partner, we can also help you out with CRM integration with all your favorite eCommerce apps.