Ecommerce Customer Relationship Management

Looking after the ecommerce customer: crm software.

Ecommerce Customer Relationship Management

What's secret to running an online store? Ecommerce customer relationship management.

Doubtless, you'll have built your site according to some clearly-thought-out marketing plan, and that plan has first to be followed. More than that, it has to be continually tested, extended and refined. Whatever you've done, the only really good plan is the plan that works — which means you'll have to keep experimenting.

Expect to do the following in the first couple of weeks after the site goes live:

• double check for factual accuracy, acceptable downloading speeds, clear navigation, page consistency, unbroken links and overall professional appearance.

• repeatedly test that ordering process is working properly: it should be quick, easy and secure: customers must feel confident here.

• ensure that order fulfillment is fully operational.

• check customer emails get through, and can be attended to.

• Check that guarantees and returns policy can be honored.

• start collecting material for ecommerce customer relationship management.

Ecommerce customer relationship management is a bit of a mouthful. What does it mean? Not just looking after the customer, but working hard to create a true relationship of understanding and confidence.

Software exists for ecommerce customer relationship management, but all you may need for the early months is a database record of customer details, or just a simple notebook.

You may be so busy with setting up the "bricks and mortar" aspects of the business — staff recruitment, offices, warehousing, suppliers, accounting procedures — that website aspects become neglected. Avoid this trap at all costs: it's important that the site starts attracting customers quickly, which requires:

• building on and modifying your marketing plan. If you've not handed promotion over to the professionals, and find the pressures of other work inhibiting, now may be the time to reconsider. Optimization companies aren't cheap, but lost or deferred sales can be even more costly.

• analyzing customer information.

• monitoring visitor behavior on the website. You need proper web statistics from the hosting company, and a site that's sensibly laid out.

Expanding the Business

Once results are comfortably within expectations, you'll be wanting to build on your investment, expanding the website as sales indicate. This may be the time to invest in ecommerce customer relationship management software, or at least start analyzing the data you've built up for such management. You have customer emails — you do answer them, don't you? — and you can scrutinize the replies from the service/product questionnaire featuring on your site. Perhaps you speak at conventions, or attend ecommerce entrepreneur get-togethers?

Once business settles into a steady routine you'll need to allocate some time to catching up on ecommerce business news, for which our resources page has some suggestions.

Understanding the Customer

This page was written in 2002 and is much out of date. Ecommerce has moved on, and you'll need the detailed approaches of our e-book to capture customers today.

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