How to Make a CRM System for E-Commerce

In the current business landscape, many enterprises have effectively adopted CRM systems to manage and nurture customer relationships in the B2C sector. E-commerce CRM solutions, for instance, offer functionalities such as customer registration, interaction tracking, and information utilization. Moreover, CRM systems aid businesses in analyzing customer behavior, identifying trends, and gaining valuable insights into consumer preferences.

Reasons to Use CRM System for Your E-Commerce Business

Let’s discuss some advantages of CRM in the e-commerce field. 

• Sales growth. Businesses can leverage the CRM to learn invaluable insights from their clients ‘ purchase patterns, payment records, product preferences, and beyond. Armed with this treasure trove of information, enterprises can craft highly tailored and individualized experiences for each customer, resulting in unparalleled satisfaction levels. An exponential surge in sales drove the business towards unprecedented growth and success;
• Demand prediction. Innovatively designed, the cutting-edge e-commerce CRM platform can remarkably anticipate product demand. This groundbreaking feature empowers companies to proactively dispatch the necessary goods to nearby distribution centers, substantially reducing transportation expenses. Consequently, customers are delighted with swift and efficient deliveries, ensuring an unparalleled shopping experience;
• Targeted marketing. CRM platforms offer access to individualized client information, empowering businesses to craft tailor-made advertising initiatives;
• Tracking opportunity. Customers can readily retrieve comprehensive information about their orders, including shipment specifics, estimated delivery schedules, and other relevant details;
• Post-sales services. Following the acquisition, creating personalized propositions and advantages tailored to individual customers becomes feasible;
• RMA management. Return Merchandise Authorization refers to sending damaged or faulty items back for resolution. When integrated with Customer Relationship Management (CRM), the RMA system offers a valuable chance to oversee the progress of returned merchandise, understand the reasons behind user returns, establish return conditions, and gain further insights into the process;
• Reduced costs. Automated data synchronization mitigates human errors and ensures a seamless user experience, enhancing overall satisfaction.

Ready-Made CRM System: How to Pick the Right One?

The modern IT market is overloaded with ready-made CRM solutions. Of course, it’s possible to build a custom CRM system based on your needs and requirements. So, the question is which option to choose: ready-made or custom-made?

Unfortunately, there is no simple answer. It’s necessary to analyze your business goals, requirements, and budget carefully. 

Here are some options you can consider.

• Cloud CRM system (SaaS). A solution like this is suitable for small and medium enterprises, as it minimizes the necessity to allocate funds towards extra machinery and equipment;
• Standalone CRM system. This solution needs a server to determine the final price, but it can be adjusted to meet your needs;
• Individual e-commerce CRM. It’s possible to implement a custom solution that meets your business needs and expectations.

Indeed, there’s no denying it – crafting a CRM system from the ground up offers unparalleled advantages. Nonetheless, this approach comes with two prominent drawbacks: time consumption and expenses. The development process demands a substantial amount of time, necessitating at least half a year for developers to construct a reliable CRM solution. Nevertheless, the silver lining lies in the ease of scalability for tailor-made remedies.

Top 3 Ready-Made E-Commerce CRM Systems

Many fantastic CRM systems are on the market, so it’s pretty challenging to pick the right one. 

• Salesforce. Salesforce is the largest CRM vendor with a versatile e-commerce solution. Tailor SalesforceIQ to your business size; it works on various platforms, including Android, iOS, web, and cloud. Valuable features include highlighting important deals and tracking team performance;
• Zoho. This CRM provider offers various payment plans based on your business size. You can choose the one that suits your budget and needs. In the standard plan, you get features like workflow conversion and email insights. The enterprise plan includes AI-based functions like Zia Voice, customizable modules, buttons, and autoresponders;
• HubSpot. HubSpot is an outstanding e-commerce CRM solution with exciting features. It automatically tracks customer activities through emails, calls, and social media. It’s free for individual representatives and supports iOS, Android, and web platforms.

Reason to Develop an Individual CRM Solution

Unquestionably, numerous benefits come with adopting a customized CRM platform designed for the e-commerce sector. Below, you’ll find a compilation of some of these remarkable advantages.

• Customization. A personalized CRM system is ideal for companies with complex business models. It can be customized to fit any business process and offers flexible data changes;
• No regular payments. As the company owns its CRM, there are no monthly license fees. Other CRM solutions usually charge per user, making it expensive for enterprise businesses. However, this company’s individual solutions work with unlimited users;
• Scalability. Pre-made solutions work well for small companies, while medium and large firms need to analyze more customer information. Thus, it’s crucial to have a scalable CRM system that meets the specific needs of each company.

Steps to Develop CRM System for E-Commerce

Discovering the quintessential process for constructing a custom-made CRM system designed to cater to your e-commerce venture’s needs encompasses five fundamental stages. Allow us to delve into these steps with utmost precision and clarity.

• Step #1. Consider your goals. Creating a set of fundamental objectives is essential for your e-commerce enterprise. This process enables the identification of specific challenges that your CRM system must address. Consequently, you can compile a comprehensive roster of essential functionalities while devising a well-structured roadmap for further development;
• Step #2. Single out the necessary features. To achieve your goals, create a list of must-have features. Start by building a basic version of the CRM system, known as the MVP. This version will include essential features that meet users’ needs. By testing the MVP, you can identify necessary improvements;
• Step #3. Brainstorming with a team. Having a productive session with your team to collaborate and generate innovative ideas for new features is a valuable practice. By attentively considering their perspectives and expectations, you open up the opportunity to incorporate beneficial elements into the project;
• Step #4. Hire reliable developers. Custom CRM development requires skilled software developers, and there are two options: hiring an in-house team or outsourcing. Hiring in-house may take time to find qualified developers, while outsourcing may have communication challenges due to different time zones, but it is usually cheaper;
• Step #5. Use CRM wisely. Indeed, the e-commerce CRM solution cannot address every challenge you encounter. CRM primarily aims to enhance customer data management and elevate their overall experience. By leveraging CRM, you can provide customers with highly tailored suggestions and recommendations, ensuring a more personalized and gratifying interaction.

You can significantly elevate your e-commerce business with custom CRM solutions. Focusing on the web version can allow you to save time and reduce costs in the future. Then, consider creating iOS and Android apps for added convenience and functionality. Stay ahead of the competition and enhance customer engagement.

Essential Features to Add to Your CRM Solution

In order to develop a robust CRM system tailored to your e-commerce enterprise, it is highly advisable to incorporate the subsequent functionalities:

• Market analytics. Introducing this innovative capability enables real-time monitoring of cutting-edge market patterns. Consequently, you gain valuable insights into your customers’ ever-evolving requirements, empowering you to supply the sought-after products and services readily. The direct outcome? A substantial surge in your overall sales performance;
• Marketing campaigns. Utilizing customers’ individual information enables the creation of tailor-made proposals and the provision of essential products that perfectly match your clientele’s needs;
• Activity tracking. Every e-commerce business needs a tracking system to monitor activities like transactions. This information helps understand customer behavior and offers personalized benefits;
• Customer support. By creating a custom CRM solution, you can set up an advanced support channel to help your customers quickly. The system analyzes and directs requests to the right employee. You can also add a 24/7 chatbot for continuous support;
• Lifecycle analytics. An e-commerce CRM system’s main feature is analyzing customer behavior by reviewing orders and payment history;
• Messaging. With a tailor-made CRM solution, your team gains the incredible capability to automatically dispatch captivating emails to your valued customers, brimming with enticing offers and personalized recommendations. This cutting-edge system is bound to boost your sales by evaluating order count.

Also, you can significantly improve customer experience and grow your business with various features by customizing them to meet your specific requirements and goals. For instance, you can add AI-based chatbots for better customer support. Here are simply no limits.

In conclusion, the CRM system is highly profitable for the e-commerce industry. If you have a small or medium business, you can go for ready-made solutions like Salesforce, which are exciting and efficient. However, if you run a large enterprise, it’s better to consider custom CRM development. This way, you can meet all your specific business needs and goals.