Introduction
With the emergence of e-commerce platforms, the role of CRM for business proliferation has become quite prominent. In the competitive online markets, the online business houses aim to draw the attention of the potential buyers and the old customers by guaranteeing them the best retail experience. To serve the customers, they need to delve into their data ranging from past purchases, contact details, email id, shopping preferences, etc. These data enable retail companies to strengthen their marketing strategies to establish stable customer relationships.
Types of E-Commerce Data
E-commerce CRM requires the collection of a variety of data.
Communication Details– The shopping portals gather personal communication details from the signup page on the portal. It includes the customer’s name, address, contact number, email id, and the preferred medium of getting in touch. For buying a product on these portals, the customers fill up these details. The companies also focus on the medium through which the buyer had learned about the product.
- It may be through any Social media page or Google search. The companies use these details to promote better communication with the buyers.
- Transaction details – It includes the data related to the price of the product purchased, the mode of the transaction (e-wallet or other online bank transaction), the time of placing the order, and buying. These details help in computing the analytics of calculating the purchase frequency and preferences. It helps in segmenting the customers.
- Engagement details- It refers to how the customer responds, whether email or messages, and the genre of messages he appreciates. Some customers prefer informative messages while others like to be informed about the new offers and discounts. It also includes the data of the number of times the customers had contacted the customer inquiry department.
- Profile details- The company groups its customers according to age group and buying capacity. The data like date of birth and profession help in determining these factors. The address determines whether the customer is from the urban or rural sector. These data allow the company to plan the marketing strategies to ensure future orders from previous customers.
- Feedback details- The company has to monitor the customers’ feedback, the number of returns, the ratings given by the certified customers of a portal, and the reaction of the customers to the surveys conducted. The experience of the customer decides whether he will place any further order or not. Such data is of vital interest to the company.
Importance of Retail CRM
The idea of collecting data forRetail CRM is beneficial because of the following reasons:
- Firstly, it enables e-commerce businesses to group their customers based on their age, gender, interests, and preferences to strategize the suitable methods to cater to their needs and market their products customized for each customer.
- Secondly, CRM systems enable the sellers to be aware of the viewers showing interest in the products by adding them to the cart. This information allows the sellers to target the potential buyer and use their marketing tactics by sending them mail about the product placed in the cart. It narrows down the search of the sellers to focus on the lead to convert it. Thus, E-commerce CRM ensures effective utilization of time by the Sales department.
- Thirdly, the paid promotions of the online shopping portals on Social Media play an important role in lead conversion. Hence, it is necessary to manage the interactions with the potential buyers. The use of CRM Software helps manage centralized Social Media interactions, thereby making the job easier for the Marketing Department.
- Fourthly, data collected about the customers’ payment patterns also helps the retail businesses track the highest revenue sources and the customers that boost this revenue. The analytics enable the companies to customize their services and plans accordingly. Moreover, the CRM Systems help in managing the billing and invoicing in the company’s payment portal. In the case of any issues, the company can help the customers to resolve the problems.
- Fifthly, The company also collects customers’ order management data like order placement, processing, tracking, delivery of service, customer feedback, etc. These data help the companies trace the customers’ reaction to the service to ideate new strategies to improve efficiency.
Method of Collecting Data
In Retail CRM, the company can collect E-commerce data in the following ways:
- The portal should seek minimum data like only the email id or phone number. Generally, customers refrain from providing personal details to the sites. Once the customer places an order, the company can get in touch with the buyer over the phone and ask for further information. It establishes trust and reliability at a pace convenient for the buyer. It also improves the lead conversion rate.
- The company should inform the customer that sharing personal data would enable the company to share information about products and services. Once the customer learns a valid reason, it develops his trust, and he will share it.
- The company can attain information related to the customer’s location from the delivery address. A phone conversation to confirm the order can provide details about the age group and gender of the customer. Hence, the portal need not ask for extra information right at the beginning for sign up.
- The company should use Google Analytics to understand the traffic in the website, the response to ads, the quality of Social Media Interaction, the response of the pages, the most viewed products of a customer, and other vital information.
- During data collection, the company must maintain specific categories and narrow down the process to evade unnecessary data storage. The company should customize the data as per requirements.
- To guarantee a personalized shopping experience, the company must establish a healthy and friendly relationship with the customers to make them feel comfortable sharing information.
- Lastly, the company should perform customer segmentation based on the data collected and scrutinize the analytics to test the planned strategies for boosting Sales.
Also read: Features that Custom Retail CRM Must Have
Conclusion
Thus to run the marketing campaigns and provide the best shopping experience, the companies leave no stones unturned in connecting with the customers. The CRM database immensely helps the E-commerce business analyze the companies’ strengths and weaknesses and enables the companies to overcome the lapses with new strategies to increase revenue collection. The collection of data is the crucial step in this process, and it is done diligently as in today’s age indeed, this data forms the backbone of the success of the online retail businesses.