In: Accounting
E-CRM emerges from the internet and web technology to facilitate the implementation of CRM, It focuses on internet or web based interaction between companies and their customers. Satisfaction is one of the most important consumer reactions in internet shopping, and its importance is reflected in the ability to help build up customer loyality, lead to repeat purchases and improves the company’s market share and profitability.
Emergence and need of e-crm in today’s competitive business enviournment
The shift from a product-focused business strategy to a customer-focused strategy has been a major transformation agent in companies recently. Anny companies have invested heavily in technologies enabling a customer focused relationship marketing strategy.Nowdays,customers are more demanding more knowledgeable, and require more attention.Incressingly,firms are shifting their focus to the customer, thus the rising importance to customer relation management.
CRM is a comprehensive business and marketing strategy that integrates techonology, process, and all business activities around the customer. With the rapid growth of electronic business and rise of internet based services, the internet has provided a platform to deliver CRM function on the web, hence a new concept is born :E-CRM(Electronic Customer relation management).E-CRM emerges from the internet and web techonologyto facilitate the implementation of Commit focuses on internet or web based interaction between companies and their customers, argue that the main driver for E-CRM adoption seems to be a commonly shared belief that it improves customer loyalty and retention through the enhancement of customer satisfaction, as customer satisfaction is one of the more immediate objectives of E-CRM.Satisfaction is one of the most important consumer reaction in internet shopping, its importance is reflected in the ability to help built up customer loyality,lead to repeat purchases to improve the company’s market share and profitability. Other aspects are as follows-
•The need to attract, acquire, leverageand retain customers is still of primary concern to most businesses.
•Revenue growth through customer acquisition and retention remains a major requirement for competing successfully. Several studies document that the average company losses half its customers every 5 years and that it cost five to ten times as much as to obtain a new customer as to keep its existing one.
•Customer power-It means greater customer choice and lower barrier to defection.
•This requires learning and tracking customer’s needs, behaviours and lifestyles this information is use to create specific value preposition of customer.
•E-CRMfacilitates the organizations to provide one to one services and also maintain transaction security of the customers
What E-CRM will mean for the company
By the mean of E-CRM cyber gurus will take charge of companies’ interaction with customer overall channels of communication include e-mail,phone,chat,live one to one interaction on the web, text based collaboration etc.We personalize and take each customer interaction as a mean of delight role of company as its brand plays in customer life. We also use customer interaction, as an opportunity to showcase company’s other goods and services that might be interest to customer.
What the company can expect in E-CRM solution package
•Call center-Company can expect a virtual yet call center, that is equipped to handle million of calls and millions of interactions with customers, over the web, in real time when the customer is visiting your site,phone,e-mail,text based chat etc.24/7hrs a day, seven days a week,365 days a year. A customer services survey is conducted every month which the customers fill out over the web to regularly guage, evaluate and improve our service.
•Campaign management: Regular interaction with customer along with recording of each and every interaction will give us insight into the needs, wants and product or service feedback from your client which we will leverage to develop successful campaign management deprtment.The essential difference being that we can help personalize the campaign to each customer.
•Customer interaction management: Call centre is not just a static unit interacting with the customer. Our Call center will take up issues of our customers to our respective departments in order to provide speedy response to the customer. We will interact with various departments to resolve any customer issue, provide more information or service.
Review of literature
Dine D Phan (2000): Fingerhut was second largest catalogue retailer in the U.S with the revenues nearing $2 billion. the retailers focused on customer -centric and segment-based business also include Business intelligence(BI)and CRM systems are playing a vital role for survival in the competitive enviournment.while Fingerhut companies experimenting to adopt various IT ‘s in their companies.the the company placed 200 analyst and 40 statisticians mined the database for insights that help to find out consumer shopping pattern andcredit behavior.Data mining and Business intelligence help Fingerhut to find out spot shopping patterns, bring product offerings to the right customers and emphasis to maintain customer relationship.
Benefits of e-CRM for Company
Personalized Experience: Each and every experience between the company and the customer is personalized. We know the person who is calling, what services or products the customer inquired about in previous interactions and what products or services may be of interest to the customer.
Multi Channel interaction: e-CRM will enable your Customer to communicate with your company through any available channel like phone, web, VOIP, email, text based collaboration, video etc.
Knowledge: Each and every interaction with the customer, over whatever channel is duly recorded and is available to all Service professionals whenever the customer initiates the interaction again. Our knowledge of the customer’s tastes, needs, requirements etc., enable us to bring to notice more of our goods and services, provide comparison of the same with competitors and help sell more of our goods and services.
One to one marketing: We use each customer interaction as an opportunity to reinforce brand loyalty and convert regular interaction into great experience for the customer.
Target Marketing: Customers get information about selective new products and services based on their previous buying pattern, profile, tastes, interests, etc.
Customer: Our customers will have any service available twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Now if a customer wants to order something from our site, say at 2a.m., the customer is scrolling at our site and needs some assistance. Right Now, the customer does not have any choice other than to proceed to check out with the Cart. In most cases, due to lack of any help, customers dump the order at check out. On the contrary, when we manage your e-CRM initiative, the customer will have the following choices. An icon will be placed on the site for customer to engage in VOIP call, regular phone call, text based chat etc. The point is, We are engaged with your customer in the buying process and we can resolve any issues, assist the customer in any way required, pass on any information about your company’s product or service, right then and there, when the customer is browsing through pages at your site.
Prompt Service: Our Representatives are highly trained professionals to indelibly superior impression and image of your company to your customer through superior service, quick resolution of Customer issues and prompt response. This promotes brand loyalty and repeats business from existing customers and emphatically tries to convert potential inquirers of products and services into Customers. New Customers can be gained through web, campaigns, product promotions and marketing offers for specific product.
Different levels of ECRM
In defining the scope of eCRM, three different levels can be distinguished:
Foundational services:
This includes the minimum necessary services such as web site effectiveness and responsiveness as well as order fulfillment.
Customer-centered services:
These services include order tracking, product configuration and customization as well as security/trust.
Value-added services:
These are extra services such as online auctions and online training and education.
Self-services are becoming increasingly important in CRM activities. The rise of the Internet and eCRM has boosted the options for self-service activities. A critical success factor is the integration of such activities into traditional channels. For example -Ford’s plan to sell cars directly to customers via its Web Site, which provoked an outcry among its dealers network. CRM activities are mainly of two different types. Reactive service is where the customer has a problem and contacts the company. Proactive service is where the manager has decided not to wait for the customer to contact the firm, but to be aggressive a contact the customer himself in order to establish a dialogue and solve problems.
Applications of e-CRM
It includes an e-commerce sell-side platform, e-CRM communication infrastructure, and CRM applications. E-CRM applications include:
Content management
Product and pricing models
Support for customer service including technical support, problem resolution, and automated response agents
Marketing automation tools
Campaign management functions
Order placement, management, and execution tasks
Catalog and content management
Secure transportation of data between browsers and servers
Multilanguage support
Messaging and workflow applications
Web measurement tools
E-mail inbound/outbound support
With these components in place, e-CRM applications can provide managers and executives with real-time, online access to customer databases, along with Web-supported customer service.