Often salespeople perceive CRM as a tool through which the top management controls the work of sales reps. But this is a very erroneous judgment. Exactly using the CRM for eCommerce allows us to increase work efficiency and show improved results both in sales and building relationships with customers. We have prepared for you the main reasons to implement CRM for your e-store.

   

But first, some statistics, which proves the positive impact of the Customer Relationship Management system on business:

• CRM is the fastest growing software market today. It was a $14 billion industry in 2010 and is expected to reach $80 billion by 2025. That’s nearly a 600% increase. (Source: Grand View Research)
• Businesses that leverage CRM software sees sales increase by 29%, sales productivity increase by 34%, and sales forecast accuracy increase by 42%. (Source: Salesforce)
• Because adopting CRM software greatly improves data accessibility, sales reps at companies using CRM are able to shorten their sales cycles by 8 to 14%. (Source: Nucleus Research)

Reasons to implement CRM for your e-store

 

Reason 1. Segmentation of clients and assigning them Lead Scoring

For example, if a customer made a purchase, he\she gets 10 points, if he subscribed to the newsletter – 2 more points, if he left the cart abandoned, the system canceled a certain amount of points. This technique enables an in-depth analysis of purchasing behavior.

And correct segmentation makes it possible to provide personalized offers, target advertising campaigns in social networks, and send mail sequences that will be exactly read. 

Adopting CRM makes it possible to collect information about the client’s profile permanently, enhancing it with data on purchasing behavior, preferences, and reactions to advertising. The information is updated every time a customer visits the site or makes a purchase, so it is always relevant for making decisions.

In a word, CRM is a cornerstone of a proper marketing strategy that allows you to build long-term relationships with your customers.

 

Reason 2. Preventing incomplete purchases and abandoned carts

Have you wondered how many shoppers visit your site, view products but don’t place an order? Or add some product to the cart and don’t pay? Research shows us that on average, 69.57% of users leave their carts abandoned for the following reasons:

With the help of the CRM system, you will understand at what stage the user “left” your e-store. So, you can “catch up” with him, remind him of an unfinished purchase or offer special conditions to motivate the client to return.

 

Reason 3. Improving marketing and promotion

CRM for eCommerce covers the entire process of providing marketing activities from planning and targeting to implementing and receiving analytics. Users will be more loyal to brands and stores that communicate with them according to their needs and desires. CRM system that is integrated into your website can collect such users’ data as name, contacts, consumer behavior (what they were interested in, what they added to Favorites, what they added to cart), and help you use this data to personalize messages and offers.

This is what we have developed and implemented for the PrintKick company.

Reason 4. Better Inventory Planning and Forecasting

Correctly configured analytics in the CRM system will objectively show which products are in greatest demand, when users search and buy, which prices are most suitable, which advertising brings the greatest return on investment. With this data, you can predict sales volumes, optimize the availability of goods in warehouses, and adapt your marketing budget.

 

Reason 5. Optimizing the work of sales managers

Adopting СRM saves staff time by automating the process of collecting and processing users’ data. At the same time, your salespersons get a lot of time to build relationships with customers. The client card allows a manager to be aware of all the client’s activity, always ready to answer the request, and provide any support, working with the client as if he\she is the only client of the company.

CRM is an excellent element of planning and time management. It will remind you of urgent or unclosed tasks, show priority clients, or automatically send letters or messages to those contacts who are waiting for updates from you.

Most CRM providers also offer a mobile version, which allows you to quickly access the software anywhere, anytime.

 

Reason 6. CRM saves resources: time and money

Many of you will argue with this point since installing a fully functional CRM for eCommerce can be quite expensive. Previously, we calculated the Total Cost of Ownership of the 9 most popular CRM. But with the right setup, many processes will be automated, there will be no need to purchase/subscribe for using any third-party services. For example, CRM integrates with email marketing programs, social networks, telephony, instant messengers, live chat, and others. Sales managers are freed from routine operational work and can devote more time to building relationships with customers and directly to sales. In a long term perspective, all these functions pay off for the investment. According to Nucleus Research, the average return per $1 investment in CRM is $8.71 in profit.

If you want your business to grow, sales to increase, and customers to come back again and again – CRM is the right tool to help you solve these tasks. And we tried to collect the most convincing reasons to implement CRM for your e-store. 

Yes, we think that you hardly have any doubts about whether your business needs CRM. The only thing you may not be sure about is which system to choose. But to help you we have prepared a comparison of the most popular CPM for eCommerce.