| |
| |
|
Customer Service Information |
|
|
|
E-Business's Best Friend: eCRM
From Ebay to the smallest home-operated start-up, e-businesses of all sizes struggle to accurately answer a common question: who are my customers? If you can't answer that question, chances are you're also in the dark about the following questions. What customer demand trends can I expect in the future? How can I improve customer retention? What can I do to build long-term relationships of trust with customers? Knowing the answer to these questions can mean the difference between long-term growth and profitability and crashing and burning. Enter eCRM With the proliferation of e-business into just about every consumer market, customers are faced with more options than ever. As a result, they have naturally become increasingly demanding both of the products they purchase and customer service they receive. The idea is that, "if company A doesn't meet my expectations, I can always go to companies B thru Z. By merely doing a Google search on your product or service you can quickly discover the number of competitors waiting for the chance to eat your lunch. The importance of eCRM is highlighted when you think of the fact that e-business' customer 'touch points' are limited and usually virtual. There's seldom any face-to-face contact because the company usually doesn't have a physical location, just a web domain. Because of the relatively recent appearance of eCRM on the business scene, many people aren't quite sure how to define it. In fact, the definition of eCRM varies almost as widely as the techniques companies use to manage it. For some people, eCRM may be as simple as pulling data off their order tracking system; they may believe keeping track of who bought what tells them the whole story. Other e-businesses with more experience may take a more complex view; metadata, datamining and drilldowns, and CTI can all be seen as vital eCRM tools used to paint a picture of the customer. Unfortunately, because of the recent inundation of eCRM systems to the market, some e-business fall into a 'can't-see-the-forest-for-the-trees' syndrome; management may get lost in the data and lose sight of their goals. The purpose of eCRM isn't to collect data in new and interesting ways, it's to answer the questions above. Still, crossing the gap between software and results remains a feat few eCRM systems are able to accomplish. The problem with many eCRM systems is that they either, 1) collect irrelevant or insufficient data, or 2) don't correctly interpret data. While the second point is largely what management gets paid for, we must remember that small and medium business is the largest market segment for eCRM. These businesses are usually run from home by individuals with little or no formal business education. The good news for startup e-businesses is that many of the newer eCRM providers will handle the nitty-gritty aspects of your customer relationship management system for you, effectively freeing up more of your time for other important tasks. Cameron Brown is an internet marketer specializing in ranking automation. For more information on eCRM, please visit Inside Sales.
MORE RESOURCES:
Court Staff Receiving Customer Service Training - Government of Jamaica, Jamaica Information Service
Customer-Service - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
6 Reasons Why Complaining Customers are Golden With Some Tips on How to RespondTt has probably happened to you if you own your own online business. You get an email or even a phone call from someone who is upset or unhappy with this or that about your business. From Disgruntled to Champion - How to Turn an Unhappy Client Into Your Best Customer It's a salesperson's worst nightmare- the phone call that comes in from a disgruntled customer. Not only does it create extra work for you, but it cuts into your valuable selling time. How to Transform Your Voicemail into an Effective Medium of Communication "Hi this is Randy. Leave me a message after the beep and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Committed To Your Customer? Prove It When They Complain! Businesses like to brag in their advertising about quality of work, commitment to their customers, and excellent service. These statements are also proudly advanced in Mission, Vision, and Values Statements. Importance of Good Customer Support in Online Computer Peripherals Shops Looking for hi-fi computer peripherals? Finding it tough to decide on the product you need to purchase? Not sure about the models that are available? Not sure about the configuration that would best suit your need? Worried that your budget might not fetch you your long dreamt hi-fi? Just relax!! There are many great world class online computer peripherals shopping centers. They offer you not only the best computer peripherals but also friendly online help in their world class online computer peripherals shopping sites. Is your Online Business Customer-Friendly? Customer service is increasingly seen as one of the most valuable uses for a commercial World Wide Web site. Your Web site is available on a 24 hour, seven days a week basis. Saying Thank You to Your Clients "Thanking your customers" - Why you should do it and how.. The Drawback of Hacking Off a Blogger Through Weak Process Gaps and Pathetic Customer Service With all of the recent data theft in the financial sector, it is important to make sure that we don't go crazy trying to protect ourselves from risk. Risk management does have a value but this value lies mostly on the front end. Dont Eliminate The Middle Man - Add One Today, there are situations when we actually add a "middle person" instead of eliminating one for increased service efficiency. If it's cost-effective and demand is high, then proper market positioning will make it a worthwhile endeavor. Learn to Anticipate Your Customers Needs This morning I was having breakfast with my good friend Diane at one of my favorite breakfast nooks. I enjoy the atmosphere there although I've been less than pleased with the customer service so far. Improving Customer Service Improving customer service starts at the top - with us owners and managers. We need to be living pictures of how we want our staff to treat customers. Making Customer Satisfaction Surveys Work Why bother? Good customer service is the life blood of any business. Although new customers are important good customer service will help generate customer loyalty and repeat business. What Every Manager Should Know About How to Prevent Customer Service Conflicts There are five techniques that have been proven to be effective in resolving, minimizing, and preventing conflicts. And by conflicts I am referring to any of the following that may take place between two or more people: misunderstanding, miscommunications, arguments, disagreements, mixed messages, fighting, etc. What To Do When Youve Blown It It's bound to happen sooner or later - yes, even to you and your business. Sometime or other, you will make a blunder that upsets a customer. Communicating for Profit and Customer Satisfaction The President of a 200+ store division of a major retailer learned of a serious communication problem and commented that 'this was to be expected in large organizations'. Well, that clears everything up. Customer Service For Huge Profits Customer service is the most vital asset for Business either it is online or offline. It's the critical factor which determines if your business has a future or not. Why Passenger Surveys are a Transport Operators Best Friend Public transport operators who already use passenger surveys may not fully appreciate the multiple benefits that surveys can bring. Not only are surveys an efficient method of market research that will help identify areas of passenger dissatisfaction, they are also perfect for measuring the effects of improvements and can, at the same time, help promote new initiatives to customers using the service. Carpet Cleaning in Surrey Like any business, carpet and upholstery cleaning requires excellent customer service and great value for money. There are a number of ways in which one can obtain these. Empowering Customer Service Vital It never fails to amaze me how many companies have employees who are empowered to offer former customers wonderful incentives to lure them back, yet their customer service representatives have the ability to offer virtually nothing to convince an unhappy customer to stay.Powerless, these CSRs often actually ignore customers' requests and declarations of their intent to leave, even encouraging them to seek out another company!They often repeat the few phrases they're allowed to say over and over again, further infuriating the customers. The Number 1 Rule for Businesses - Be Professional Have you ever walked into a store and things looked sloppy? Stores should have nice neat displays, right? Normally, yes, but sometimes they get a bit messy on busy days and we all understand how that can happen.But what if you were to walk into a store as soon as it opened in the morning and the place looked liked it had been ransacked? What would you think?You'd probably think it wasn't very professional-looking.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
