What is online CRM?
Online CRM is to build a relationship with your customers through all digital media beyond selling and marketing.
The better the relationship, the easier it is to conduct business and generate revenue.
To build good online CRM you must first have good understanding of your target audience persona.
It helps business owners to overcome various operational business challenges like high client attrition rate, sales decline, non-systematic business processes and dissatisfaction of stakeholders.
It is very important that your customers feels that you are posting with them not to them. having better understating to your customers and what is trending online what is important to them, what annoy them, make it easier to build long relationship online and higher engagement rate. Build a top of mind relationship with your customers and potential customers build your own community online . make it easier to customers when they start thinking about buying any of your products to be the first to cross their minds.
How to Build effective online CRM ?
Figure 1 :- key factors to build online CRM
Listen
You have to listen to your customers first and have good understanding about your customers. More you understand your customers more you will know how to engage them. Knowing what makes your customers happy, what annoy them, where are they spending their time, and how they are spending over internet all these are very important to understand what to offer and when. Having a good social media listening tool and also tracking your customers over the Internet is very important. You have to study your consumer online behavior for better engagement.
Segmentation
Online the segmentation and targeting are more specific than any other media and its very easy to reach your segmentation by their interest for example, and you can also build a whole profile about who you want to target and also build a specific persona for them. Social media made it easy for targeting by my parameters and criteria.
Personalize
It is very important to personalize your messages and try to engage your customers upon the segmentation you build. Don’t deliver one message to all. Personalizing and customizing your message lead to higher conversation and longer loyal relationship.
Now a day social media tools such as Facebook make it easier to customize your message and make segment to see different messages upon their interest on your products or different area(geographic) or by certain ages ( demographics) even better you can build a whole profile to your target audience to see different messages.
For example if you want to deliver a message to last 10 person was interested on your watching machines living on certain area all women and also their age is 25 interested in classis music you can. If you want to announce new offer for target customers under age of 18 going to the beach and also interested in gym and sports you can. So building as much messages as you want for every customer you have on your store is also possible. On this bases you can also build your relationship with different customers upon personalization standers.
Choose your tools
It is very important to study your tools very well and what tools will satisfy the company needs . another important point many companies fail in to choose a tool that integrate with the other tools in the company not ever invest on a stand alone software or tool that doesn’t integrate or see the rest of the company . start first with the free tools they are many of them available online free and will support the company needs ate the beginning then start investing some money if the company needs start to expand you must expand too with more professional tool like sales force for example.
There are many tools will help you to empower your online CRM the most important which one suits your company and easy to integrate.
- Analysis tools: – Google analytics – Social bakers
- Social media tools: – Engagor , Google alerts, hootsuite
- CRM tools: – Microsoft, sales force
Continuity
Building a relationship with online customers in current competition and current exposure is not an easy thing. The new millennium and new generations (X,Z) are not loyal to a brand any more they are loyal to your products or services once what your offering don’t satisfy their needs or expectation (which become very high )they will start to search for alternatives. So continuous engaging is very important to keep yourself on the top of mind of these generations and start to meet their high expectations. You have to engage them with unusual ways and ongoing plan must be continuous.
Tools to apply online CRM
Pointing system for e-commerce sales
To guarantee continuity you have to engage your customers by pointing system as much as he going to collect point he will gain more.. Working with personalization you will know what to offer to your customers what he will like to take in return to his points. You can also send your customers messages to encourage them to buy extra products so they can exchange their points to the products they are looking for or on their wishlist. This tool will help in increasing conversion rates to your online store.
Surprise customers with +ve comments posts
Having a good listing media tool will help you to capture your loyal customers online and see who write positively about you and your products online you can encourage this +ve attitude and encourage +ve word of mouth by surprising these customers by products they like or interested on your store will help you to build relation for life. They will never forget such pleasant surprise.
Free after sales services for loyal customers
Knowing your customers well and having a good database will support you to know when and how you can help your customers.
By such tools you can know that your customers just bought an A/C last year and it will be nice to send someone to check over it for example. Also continuity of such activities will empower your relationship with your customers.
Free exchange and delivery
Add extra service for your special customers such as free exchange or free delivery will make your customers feel unique and special
Who don’t like to feel so?
First to know about offers and bundles (customization)
Make your loyal customers be your marketing tool by making them feel special to know first and they are the one telling rest of people about your special offers and bundles
Free vouchers
Giveaway free vouchers on special events or time during the seasons will make them visit your store to spend more
Free visits
To build unique relationship with your customers make them feel that your company is their home make them see what you do inside to deliver your products or services . make them a part of your process.
Warranty activation extend
For your special customers there are always extra and special services you can offer them extra warranty for their products to enjoy your services
Birthday gift or vouchers
Personalize your gift when you remember personal events about your customers he will not forget your brand in return
Wedding vouchers + bundles
Customers never forget people share with them happy events of life like mirage when your offer them such bundles and offer during their wedding preparation you will always be number one choices later.
-How online CRM will help in online sales conversions?
Being by the side of your customers online on their important monuments show support and backup for them will give you a unique competitive advantage upon your competitors. You have to understand that now markets are not monopoly anymore you have to do extra mile to engage your customers to be a loyal ones.
The new generation totally different the previous one millennium or x or z generations behaviors are totally different their expectations are much higher and they expect you to do it prefect and right now. If you are not able to meet these expectations and on the right time you are out of competition. Companies must understand the new generations are not loyal to your brands anymore they are loyal to their needs and expectations. You have to learn from companies pervious mistakes such as nokia and blackberry for example they were on the top of mobile market and once their ignore their customers needs and expectation they are out of mobile market and easily subsisted by another companies such as apple and Samsung. Studying your customers and understanding their needs is not an option anymore if you want to compete and continuity on the market study not their needs only their interests, their trends even what they dream for. Building a company may be an easy thing but be in market for long time and be strong having good market share being on the top is not an easy thing and need a continuous effort and work .
Always keep on mind your customer is the king.
