E Marketing and Customer Relationship Management – Two sides of the same coin

Whenever one talks of E marketing strategy or plan, they normally include online selling, online promotions and advertising. However this could be a very narrow view or definition as applied to E marketing. Planning for Customer Relationship Management is as important as paying attention to online selling efforts.

Let us look at understanding some of the consumer trends and behaviour and apply it to the E Commerce platform. Every marketing professional and businessman knows that selling to a repeat buyer or an already existing customer is far easier than the effort required in developing a new customer. Secondly the cost of selling to an existing customer can be only 15% of the cost of selling to a new customer. In the overall sales target, repeat customer sales do figure as a major portion. Now let us look at the Customer Relationship Management angle.

Customers are won over not by the product and price alone but by the service and happy experience too. Any customer who has been happy with the service received is likely to be loyal to the Company and most probably he will be ready to compromise or over look certain defects over superior quality of service. This is not all. When you have one happy customer, you can be sure that in good time he will refer many more customers from his social friends circle as well as family too. This can be a double edged sword. In case a customer is not happy with his experience or the product, he can spread talk ill about the Company as well as the product to his friends and family too.

When you create an E Commerce platform and choose promote your products and services, paying attention to Customer Relationship Management becomes that much more important. Using E Commerce as your sales engine, you are going to focus on wider markets and volume of prospects and customers too.

For one thing, with increase in volume of sales, you will need to create the necessary backend process and E enabled System infrastructure to cater to After Sales Service as well as Customer Relationship Management.

The internet has changed the consumer behaviour. Customers today expect superior service and immediately. The delivery and service expectations have gone up. Servicing a larger customer base in a short span of time calls for robust CRM system and process backup.

It is important to remember that the internet customers have the power of instant communication across the world wide web. What does this mean to your business? It means that you cannot afford to have any lacunae in your product, service or CRM processes. You have got to walk the talk. The customer can influence the entire market with his perceptions and experience.

Integrating CRM with your promotional strategy would go well hand in hand. Along with boosting sales, the marketing managers would need to focus on building brand loyalty and using promotional activities to engage with the Customers as well as delivery enhanced value in the relationship. Every Marketing Manager needs to ask this question - If his/her Business is equipped and ready for E commerce platform.