Key Advantages of CRM in E-commerce

by Michael Lazar PR Expert

What is ECRM?

ECRM is a customer relationship management system that enables online retailers to manage customer profiles, see purchase tendencies and other analytics.

E-commerce businesses need to have a good relationship with their customers to achieve success. One of the best ways to build a good rapport with customers is through ecommerce relationship systems, (ECRM). Making a customer feel like they’re being listened to, and their needs being met is the best way to build customer and brand loyalty.

The ECRM market is predicted to grow from $58.04 billion in 2021 to $128.97 billion by 2028.*

With such massive growth, certainly there is a reason it’s being used and adopted by so many companies. In fact, 92% of companies say that CRM is a crucial tool for achieving revenue growth according to SuperOffice. To stay relevant as an ecommerce retailer, implementing an ECRM system is a necessity. In the following article we’ll cover the types of ECRMs available and the advantages of using CRM in online retail:

Types of ECRM

· Operational – Uses marketing, sales and service automation to streamline business growth.

· Analytical – Gathers and analyzes shopper data to improve their experience.

· Collaborative – Enables data sharing between different sectors of a company, such as marketing, sales, support and technical teams.

Advantages of ECRM

Benefits abound when implementing an ECRM system into your businesses operations. One advantage is the access of accurate, up-to-date shopper tracking gives opportunities for upselling and cross-selling. Understanding your customers’ purchasing habits will increase company revenue. Based on a report issued by McKinsey cross-selling increases profits by 30%. A few other benefits of CRMs include:

· Improved Customer Experience

Order status updates, inventory checks, and shipment tracking helps your customer stay informed on when to expect their package.

· Enhanced Marketing and Promotion

Having a centralized location for all customer data enhances all marketing activities from planning to execution. Highly personalized email marketing sent to your customer will positively affect your revenue.

· Improved Sales Team Performance

Increases employee productivity. Access to customer data allows sales teams to upsell and cross-sell more effectively.

· More Efficient Inventory Management and Forecasting

Analyzing sales data will give you insight into which products are the most popular in your store, enabling you to forecast for manufacturing, sourcing and sales purposes.

· Improve Competitiveness

Data transfers that are automated and synchronized across all sales channels increases overall efficiency of your business by ensuring correct order fulfillment and timely communication. A streamlined and efficient company has the edge against the competition .

· Better Analytics and Monitoring

ECRM systems integrations provides your business with large amounts of data. Dashboard customization gives you the ability to leverage customer information, sales goal reports, and uncover untapped opportunities.

Common ECRM features

You may be asking yourself what kind of features ECRMs offer to online retailers. Depending on which CRM you choose these are some of the common features you can expect:

· Territory Management

· Quotes & Proposals

· Multiple Integrations

· Task Management

· Segmentation

· Mobile Access

· Leading Scoring

· Calendar System

· Internal Chat Integration

· Financial Forecasting

Risk versus Reward?

When choosing an ECRM for your business, price is always a factor. Weighing the risks versus rewards may seem daunting, but the truth of the matter is it will save and even earn money for your online business in the long run.

For every dollar invested into ECRM the average return was $8.71, according to Nucleus Research in 2014.

If $8.71 was the rate of return for every dollar invested into ECRM in 2014, it's reasonable to assume that it is much higher now in 2021. With the implementation of ECRM, conversion rates can surge by as much as 300%, according to Finances Online. Benefits such as these will certainly set up your ecommerce business for success now and for the future.

About the Author: Michael Lazar is an Executive at ReadyCloud Suite, a CRM, shipping, returns and growth marketing suite designed for ecommerce.