Explore the benefits of adopting a CRM for your eCommerce business and find the best solutions to enhance customer engagement, sales, and loyalty.
SuperOffice reports that 86% of customers are willing to spend more money if companies give them a better buying experience but is a CRM for eCommerce really worth the money? Stick around to find out.
This is typically where a CRM comes into play, helping companies gain a deeper understanding of their customers to deliver a personalized customer experience.
And while CRMs have long become the norm in SaaS, is it a viable marketing tool for eCommerce businesses?
| TLDR Key Takeaways |
| eCommerce CRM software helps improve client retention, increase customer lifetime value, and boost customer engagement. eCommerce CRM solutions typically come with features to help you spot hidden trends, patterns, and areas of improvement. CRMs work best for B2B eCommerce because of the higher average order value and LTV numbers. |
How is eCommerce CRM Different from Traditional CRM?
The main difference between the two is that an eCommerce CRM is designed specifically for use by eCommerce companies, with its features tailored specifically to the unique needs of online businesses.
The top features include identifying at-risk customers, analyzing an email subscription list, tracking the cart abandonment rate, built-in loyalty program, omnichannel messaging, and much more if an eCommerce CRM is truly going to be worth the money.
A good eCommerce CRM should have three main elements.
The first component is data reporting. Data reporting helps businesses identify and track crucial metrics and KPIs such as:
The second element is data analysis. Instead of spending hours analyzing data with Excel or Google Sheets, these platforms do the heavy lifting for you, helping identify hidden areas of improvement.
Finally, an eCommerce CRM must be flexible enough to support numerous third-party integrations. For example, it should be easy to integrate a CRM into your tech stack, including your CMS, payment processor, and other tools.
The short answer is yes, especially if you’re a B2B company.
Let’s take a closer look at the key ways in which eCommerce CRMs are instrumental in steering your online store down the path to success:
eCommerce customers are spoilt for choice when it comes to the communication channels and media they have at their disposal.
While this does give your business more ways to reach your target audience, it also makes it harder to compete as you must now tailor the experience of each customer to a specific marketing channel.
eCommerce CRM software simplifies this challenge by allowing you to easily record a customer’s personal information and behavioral practices across every single one of those channels.
This makes it easier to leverage omnichannel marketing strategies and deliver stellar customer experiences.
eCommerce CRMs allow you to store and analyze critical data about your customers to help you create data-driven customer segments.
Not only does tailoring your strategies through customer segmentation let you create personalized experiences for your users, but it also allows you to maximize conversions. This is especially useful for B2B eCommerce companies.
Since B2B sales are more complex than B2C sales and generally involve longer lead nurturing cycles, B2B eCommerce companies stand to benefit significantly from CRM software simply because they allow them to create laser-focused account-based marketing strategies to dramatically increase conversion rates.
A B2B eCommerce CRM uses data to identify popular products and make recommendations on what needs to be stocked and by when.
Inventory planning protects the company from losses because it will not buy slow-moving products.
That way, you know you’re on top of your customer’s needs at all times.
Below, we have reviewed three leading eCommerce CRM solutions that can be used by online businesses to increase their revenue and drive more sales.
Best for customer retention
Patch is the best customer retention CRM. It boasts several customer retention features, such as a customer loyalty program, a text chat widget, and the ability to support customers on platforms such as Shopify plus.
This CRM retains customers by automatically sending rewards to shoppers who refer their friends or join a list. Despite the numerous features, some users feel the platform requires a longer learning curve to understand its full potential.
Here’s a quick video showing how Patch works:
Signing up is easy. Patch Pro’s subscription plan unlocks unlimited access to a host of data-centric customer retention and loyalty marketing tools for only $295/month.
As a leading customer retention program, Patch is a go-to solution for eCommerce brands looking to enhance their CRM strategies. Schedule a demo to discover how your company can boost its customer retention efforts with our suite of features today.
Best for aggressive email marketing
Klaviyo is a Customers Relationship Management platform that is best for aggressive email marketing. It has a simple-to-use pre-built signup form that makes it easy to collect emails and phone numbers. Though Klaviyo has pre-built templates, it has more than 200+ integrations, which makes it difficult for average users to follow.
Klaviyo’s pricing depends on the number of contacts you have. An eCommerce business with less than 250 contacts can use the platform free of charge. The CRM will bill online companies with 1,001 – 1,500 contacts $60 a month for email and SMS marketing functionalities.
However, for email functionality alone, the price tag is $45/month. The higher the number of contacts, the higher the monthly costs.
Klaviyo is best for aggressive email marketing because of its pre-built email templates and signup forms to collect email data.
Solid customer loyalty platform
Yotpo is an eCommerce marketing platform that is best for visual marketing. Yotpo enables eCommerce companies to showcase their products using customer videos or photos. The platform’s automatic rights management tool protects the business from using copyrighted images.
Though it is suitable for visual marketing, customers have reported limited automation capabilities.
Yotpo has a free plan that includes two-way SMS conversations, advanced analytics, and reporting. Brands that want more can choose the Growth plan, billed at $19 monthly, or Prime, billed at $59 monthly. Large businesses with customizable needs can select the Powerhouse option, billed at $199 monthly.
Yotpo boasts many features, such as two-way SMS conversation and Shopify POS integration. It also makes it easy for businesses to use customer photos and videos for visual marketing.
Customer relationship management is essential to an eCommerce business’s growth and profitability.
Leveraging CRM software geared specifically towards eCommerce brands is key in helping you build marketing campaigns that truly resonate with your audience and increase your long-term CLV.
If you want to learn more about how Patch can help take your eCommerce business to the next level, get in touch with our team today to schedule a free demo.
Learn the step-by-step process of creating buyer personas that will fuel your data-driven marketing strategies and ensure you reach the right...
Learn how to automate your eCommerce email marketing with our step-by-step guide, ensuring more effective communication and increased sales.
This article is going to cover why you should be using online customer reviews to boost your eCommerce revenue.