Data shows that the COVID pandemic crisis changed the shopping habits of consumers worldwide and that change is here to stay. According to Statista, by 2025 the value of online sales in retail will make up a quarter of total retail sales. But this will not stop at retail.
Consumers will buy more and more online food and personal care products, toys, furniture, appliances, and other products.
Precedence Research says that “the global B2C e-commerce market size was valued at US$ 3.86 trillion in 2021 and expected to hit US$ 7.45 trillion by 2030, poised to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.6% during the forecast period 2022 to 2030”.
To compete and make sales in this fast-paced e-commerce business environment, you need to constantly improve your digital business skillsets. Besides that, you have to nurture the relationship with your customers, since this could be critical for your business. Keep in mind that:
- a 5% increase in customer retention produces more than a 25% increase in profit
- it costs 6 to 7 times more to acquire a new customer rather than keep the existing one
Therefore, you need the right e-commerce CRM strategy for your web store to make sales.
What Is an E-Commerce CRM Strategy?
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategies and e-commerce work together. A CRM refers to software that businesses and freelance marketers use to develop, retain, and acquire customers.
The CRM strategy is how you leverage all the data your platform can collect to ensure that your marketing, messaging, products, and offers all fit your existing and target audiences.
CRM is important for both large enterprises and small businesses as well – and they know it. Statistic says that 91% of companies with more than 11 employees are using a CRM system.
If you have an e-commerce business, you need to integrate a CRM strategy into the company to achieve better data management, procedure automation, and managing relationships with customers.
6 E-Commerce CRM Strategies To Boost Web Store Sales
To run a successful and profitable e-commerce business, you must meet all customer expectations. For example, when making order deliveries, one good thing would be to develop KPIs which will help you measure success. You can’t measure what you don’t know, and the same goes for Customer Relationship Management,
Bearing this in mind, here are seven e-commerce CRM strategies to help keep the customers satisfied and boost your sales.
Incorporate CRM Software
Your e-commerce business needs effective CRM software to help you acquire customer data. Once you have this data, you can study consumer trends and use the information to forecast future sales. CRM is one of the top software needed in a business because it’s a unified system that holds all customer data.
Since the decision-makers know how critical information CRM software provides, its market size is predicted to reach a staggering $216.63 billion in 2026.
If this is not enough to convince you to invest in CRM software just think about this fact. For every dollar a company spends on a CRM system, your business could expect a return on investment (ROI) of about $8.
In addition, the software automates the sales process, enhancing work processes. Also, it can replace all the tedious tasks and procedures by implementing CRM software and boosting company efficiency. With proper management, the company can review processes and avoid errors.
Go Multi-Channel
To engage the customers, you need to use different marketing channels. Incorporate tools such as social media platforms, push notifications, SMS messaging, email marketing, social media marketing, and digital ads in acquiring and retaining customers.
Additionally, instead of spending your entire marketing budget on all platforms, you can prioritize the one your customers spend most of their time on for maximum results. For example, if your consumers mostly use Instagram and TikTok, you should leverage these networks for your e-commerce business.
Nevertheless, your website must always be your top priority. It must be optimized, well-designed, mobile-friendly, and regularly updated with fresh and relevant content you will then share through your other channels. Check this list of tips to help you improve your website and get more relevant traffic.
Use Mobile Wallet Marketing
Mobile payments are becoming popular globally, with users expected to reach 1.31 billion by 2023. This means that most smartphones today have a built-in mobile wallet system.
You can develop digital marketing tools tailored for mobile wallet interfaces to make paying for items easier for your customers. This can be done by digitizing gift cards and vouchers or offering coupons using banner notifications on the mobile wallet. This could encourage customers to spend more on your e-commerce website.
Focus on Customer Retention
Customer retention is important for any business. You need to provide the best possible customer experience to boost satisfaction and increase retention. One way to do this is by creating a robust loyalty program with rewards and offers.
Try to create and nourish strong relationships with clients by handling orders effectively and fast. You should also use your customer data to personalize communication and marketing offers.
Use CRM software for live chat to interact with customers and get their feedback. Monitor their purchase habits and understand their needs to help you identify customer trends. Satisfied customers will recommend your e-commerce business to their friends and family, increasing sales.
Customers will often judge a business by how they handle complaints. Pay attention to customer feedback and use it to boost customer satisfaction. A well-designed CRM system should give your customers the best user experience.
For instance, if your users share reviews and complaints about navigating the website when buying items or paying for products during checkout, you need to improve your web design.
If they have complaints about not having enough payment methods then you should listen and try to offer as many forms of payment as possible.
Hire a Data Team
To get the best out of your CRM system, you need to invest in data. Hire a team that knows how to analyze your CRM data. This can be an extremely difficult task since qualified data experts are quite scarce in the job market.
Set your expectations and try to find the best candidates for different sets of data. For example, you definitely need a web analyst who can analyze customer behavior on the website and mobile applications. Their insights can be crucial in making needed upgrades to the website.
If you are looking for a Customer relationship management analyst, bear in mind they need to have experience in many different areas:
- customer service
- customer relationship management and CRM Software
- digital marketing
- and market research, just to name a few.
To put all that data to use they also must have strong analytical skills and strategic planning based on data.
If you manage to create a strong data team – the insights from the data team can be used as actionable opportunities for the web store to streamline its sales processes.
Provide Discount Codes and Offers
Your e-commerce business needs to have some offers and discount codes to attract new customers, retain existing ones and promote new products. However, these discounts need to be unique and timely.
You can offer site-wide discounts for all customers, or for first-time buyers. This will inspire people to become returning customers.
Also, you must implement some form of customer loyalty program to show customers that you value their loyalty and reward them for it. There are many different options so choose the type that best suits you and start making more sales.
The Benefits of E-Commerce CRM
Using CRM strategies for your e-commerce is important because it helps you with timely customer tracking. You can use the information to cross-sell or upsell. The more you understand purchasing habits, the higher your sales numbers will become.
Modern CRM systems will save your business money and time. Since they are automated, you can merge all your internal and external processes such as invoicing, emailing, reporting, and financial forecasting. Instead of carrying out manual tasks, the CRM system will create smart workflows that provide information about customer actions.
Additionally, a CRM system will boost your customer experience and satisfaction. Responding to their comments and feedback will keep them coming back.
How To Choose the Best CRM for Your E-Commerce Business
When choosing a CRM strategy for your business, you need to consider your growth strategy. Developing a CRM system takes time. Therefore, you need one that will fit your business as it expands.
Systems such as Pipedrive and Copper are easy to set up and don’t require a heavy investment upfront. However, if your business is already established and you just need to scale up, you can go for a system like HubSpot.
What’s most important is matching the tool selection to your KPIs and strategies. Find what will work for you today and supports your growth so that you don’t need to change tools once your CRM strategy is in full swing.
