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: Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority opens new PRC Customer Service Desk Cherokee One Feather Realtor Lammert delivers customer service from the inside out Leader Publications ‘Honesty, integrity, and doing things right:’ Les Schwab Tire Center makes customer service a priority Canon City Daily Record New York State Alerts New Yorkers of Temporary Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) Outage on Sunday, May 19, for ... Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance Availity Wins Two Bronze Stevie® Awards in 2024 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service Business Wire Verizon (VZ) Enhances Customer Service With GenAI Integration Zacks Investment Research Integrated solutions empower productivity for SMBs Insights by Samsung No, GPT-4o isn't going to kill teaching or customer service Business Insider Verizon sharpens GenAI tools to impro... Mobile World Live NTTA customer service, Tarrant County district clerk spar over mistaken charge The Dallas Morning News How customer service factors into the claims experience Canadian Underwriter Samsung Scores #1 in Customer Satisfaction and Overall Service Quality for 5G Mobile Samsung US Newsroom Verizon unveils human-assisted GenAI tools for customer service Telecompaper EN Cognigy Named a Leader in 2024 “Conversational AI For Customer Service” Report The Bakersfield Californian What Consumers are Saying About AI and Customer Service Customer Think Opinion: If it's not dead already, customer service is certainly on life support • Asheville Watchdog Asheville Watchdog Frequently asked questions and customer service CSPI Newsroom Poll workers emphasize election confidence, customer service • Indiana Capital Chronicle Indiana Capital Chronicle Top Banks Offering 24/7 Customer Service in 2024 Business Insider Customer Service & Support Hillsborough County (.gov) They've got your back: Meet American's system customer service managers - American Airlines Newsroom They've got your back: Meet American's system customer service managers American Airlines Newsroom Senate Passes FAA Bill on Air Safety and Customer Service – The Presidential Prayer Team The Presidential Prayer Team Rebuilding the IRS Improves Customer Service and Reduces the Tax Gap Center For American Progress Codelocks Australia: 10 years of innovative access control solutions | Security News SourceSecurity.com The Marriott Maze: Navigating Customer Service Over $11, When Does It Stop Being Worth It? View from the Wing AI enhances flexibility and efficiency for customer service centers, new research reveals | Binghamton News Binghamton University Porsche claims first place for customer service among premium car owners in J.D. Power Study Porsche Newsroom Department of Customer Service Peak Joint Consultative Committee update - Public Service Association Department of Customer Service Peak Joint Consultative Committee update Public Service Association How to contact Amazon UK Customer Service About Amazon.co.uk The correct airline customer service numbers to help avoid scams The Washington Post Forbes Recognizes Regions Bank for Best Customer Service Regions Financial Corporation Lee Michaels’ Scott Berg: How to make unhappy customers happy Greater Baton Rouge Business Report Customer Assistance Programs DC Water CommBox Launches Connect Partner Programme, Offering Market-Leading Automation and AI Capabilities to ... Silicon Canals Contact SEA Customer Care portseattle.org Genesys & ServiceNow join forces to revolutionise customer service ChannelLife Australia Customer Support GE Aerospace Buccaneers Continue to Excel in Season Pass Member Customer Service Experience, Voted No. 1 for Sixth ... Buccaneers.com Recent Developments That Could Impact How Companies Offer AI-Based Customer Service Chatbots | Insights Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Billing and Insurance WellSpan Health Child Support Services Division Mass.gov Senate passes bill improving air safety and service for travelers, a day before FAA law expires Chicago Tribune AI is replacing customer service jobs across the globe The Washington Post Air India rolls out iPad app for on board customer service Live From A Lounge Customer Service Center - Recreation & Wellbeing University of California, Berkeley Verizon Down? Users Report Service Outage, Call Dropping | Ways To Troubleshoot And Customer Support Times Now Social media customer service statistics to know in 2024 Sprout Social Delayed On Southwest? You Can Now Skip The Customer Service Line And Request A $75 Credit Online Forbes Excellent customer service in Austin, Texas, indicative of nationwide survey Transportation Security Administration |
RELATED ARTICLES
Difficult Customers - Theres No Such Thing A couple of years ago I had a call from a Customer ServiceManager working in the paper industry. He wanted me to run aseminar for his team, on "How to Deal with DifficultCustomers". Dont Work with Jerks: How to Recognize a Difficult Client Early Five minutes into the call I knew this client was going to make my life miserable. The problem was, I already said "Yes. 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. The Marvelous World of Metaphors Recognize metaphors from every angle and round up moreinsight into your own innovation. Nobody can do it better thanyou can!A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrasethat means one thing is used to describe an object or ideasto which it is not literally applicable -- a ship is said to plow the sea. The Nine Principles of Customer Service for the Travel Industry If you want to learn how to get your clients to do your selling for you through excpetional customer service, read on. Learn customer service secrets from tourism professionals, apply them to your business and prosper. 3 Special Benefits Every Customer Wants Every customer looks for 3 special benefits when they dobusiness with you. They may not specifically ask for thesebenefits. How to Win the Hearts of Your Customers and Friends Those of us doing business over the internet have to become especially adept at our listening and speaking skills since we don't have the luxury of talking with our customers face to face. It's especially important to give those on the phone extra attention - listening to their voice, because that is the only thing you have to go on, to sense their emotion. Wholesale Buyers Versus Retail Customers Are wholesale buyers and retail customers really different? Frankly, there are two answers to this question: yes and no. Yes, because they are different from the buyers and those selling to buyers' point of view and no, because the principles that apply are the same for both types of buying. How to Retain Your Customers the Dish Network Way Customer retention is vital to a business. If you cannot retain your customers you will be continually losing current customers and always on the search for new ones. A White Paper: Profiting with Kindness In 2002, there wasn't much interest for Kindness in business, and some business people would question, "What does kindness have to do with business, anyway?" Is this a for real question or just to prove a point? Or perhaps they couldn't figure out what being kind really had to do with business. Or perhaps the word was a jargon word, an unfamiliar language. 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. Loyalty Programs May Keep Customers Coming Back - But First You've Got to Earn their Trust Remember trading stamps? If you're over 40, chances are you will. Every time you shopped at a participating grocery store or gas station they gave you stamps to paste into a book. What Exactly is Customer Relationship Management? The defintion of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) that I favor is "CRM is the business strategy that aims to understand, anticipate, manage and personalize the needs of an organization's current and potential customers"From this we can learn that CRM is more than just a piece of software; CRM is a business strategy, one that puts the customer at the heart of the business."That's nothing new" I hear you say, and you would be right. Customer Service Tips for Mail Order Businesses Can we be too good to our customers? No way! Our customers are the backbone of our business! They're right no matter what! But I'm sorry to disagree with you. As small, honest and legitimate businesses - we have a tendency to place our product quality above money. Client Service as a Competitive Advantage As someone who has been heavily involved facilitating strategic planning processes with organizations during the last 15+ years, I often find it somewhat amusing how people answer the questions I pose.For example, if I ask people, "What is your unique differentiation in the marketplace?" or "What does your organization really excel at?" They will almost always reply, "It has to be our client service. Dealing with Difficult People 1. Don't get Hooked !!!When people behave towards you in a manner that makes youfeel angry, frustrated or annoyed - this is known as a Hook. Putting The Serve Back Into Customer Service Good service is easy to spot and hard-to-find. Mediocre serviceoccasionally stands out but only because it's the cream-of-the-crap. 7 Bits Of Critical Information You Cant Afford NOT To Know About Your Customers If you think customer relationship management is just a piece of software, you're dead wrong. Customer relationship management is about understanding your customers. The 7 Principles of Business Integrity If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters. Over Deliver - The Key to Customer Satisfaction Client satisfaction starts with meeting or beating the contractual obligations of the relationship. There are also some intangibles that can help you to over deliver to a client. |
home | site map |
© 2006 |