You’re struggling to keep up with your customer data. What CRM software can help you stay on top?

Getting stuck in this trap is too common. Buy a CRM, and voila, all benefits? Not quite. Picture an ax – it won't chop wood alone; someone's got to take charge. Your CRM is just a tool; invest time and attention to use and optimize it. Forget the sharpener? No wood for you!

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software helps businesses manage interactions with current and potential customers. It typically includes features for contact management, sales automation, customer support, and analytics. If you have specific questions or need recommendations, feel free to ask!

If you’re considering CRM software, you may want to also consider CDP (customer data platform) software as an alternative. Many modern digital commerce brands are making the move from CRM to CDP, because these platforms are more capable of capturing customer information across a variety of touch points, helping businesses to understand their customers better (for example, automatically building customer personas), and delivering experiments with Engagement strategies across web, mobile, social, and in-store customer touch points.

There are various popular CRM software options available, including Salesforce, HubSpot CRM, Zoho CRM, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and Pipedrive. It's important to evaluate your specific business needs, budget, and scalability requirements before selecting a CRM software that best fits your organization.

In the ever-evolving world of customer data management, one CRM software that consistently stands out is Zoho CRM. As a Business Automation Architect, I've seen its immense value firsthand. 🚀 Zoho CRM excels in providing a customizable and integrated solution, especially for small to medium-sized businesses. With features like automated workflows, lead management, and detailed reporting, Zoho CRM turns data into actionable insights. 📊 However, it's crucial to note that while Zoho offers robust capabilities, its interface might require a bit of a learning curve, and the free plan has limited functionality. But for those willing to explore its depths, Zoho CRM is a treasure trove of efficiency and effectiveness. 💡

1. Customer 360 view - CRM consolidates complete customer data at single point, it helps you slices & dices of customer interaction with your platform. 2. Customer communications are complex. With plethora of options like Push notifications, in app inbox, SMS, email, WhatsApp customer attention is at lowest level. CRM will help you nudge right customers at right time with right channel & messaging. 3. Retention of high RFM (Recency, Frequency, Monetary Value) customers is important for all businesses. CRM will enable you to give personalised experiences to this customer cohort.

CRM software is pivotal for e-commerce success. It harnesses customer insights to tailor offers, enhancing service and loyalty. It sharpens marketing campaigns with targeted content and automates outreach across channels. Plus, it precisely measures impact on sales and ROI, driving future strategies.

Great eCommerce marketing relies on great segmentation. A CRM is the way to achieve that. An additional layer on top of that is a loyalty programme.

Typically in e-commerce customer acquisition is expensive. Unless you have a really high margin product you need to maximise the lifetime value of customers to justify spending to acquire them in the first place. That's where CRM software comes in. By tracking behavioural metrics and patterns of existing customers, you can build automated flows/funnels to engage them in the optimal way to maximise their spend with you.

The prime moment to unleash your CRM magic passed a while back, but the next best time? It's today. Don't hold back. Waiting means more data slipping through your fingers!

Investing time in a thorough SWOT analysis for selecting CRM software is crucial. It’s about aligning the tool with your business goals, considering budget constraints, and learning from others’ experiences. This approach ensures you choose a CRM that truly fits your e-commerce needs.

Every business has different requirements. Speak to and demo different tools and speak to you peers in the industry and try to figure out what tools your competition is using. You might find that there is no tool out there that ticks all the boxes. Then you might need to consider building one in-house but that will be a big undertaking. Of course, as with any tools, budgets and projected growth (i.e. how big will your database be in x years?) come into play. Also, choosing a CRM software should be a collaboration between all relevant departments that will be touching it as everyone will have different requirements and come at it from a different perspective (marketing, sales, IT, operations, etc.)

For starters use any open source CRM. This will help you save till you get a large customer base. Take advantage of free trials and try the shortlisted software of your liking. Find out what works for you. Don't choose something because your competitor uses it.

The list of CRM software is pretty long and ever growing. Salesforce is usually identified as the market leader and provides a great deal of capabilities. SAP has also good products, especially within their ecosystem. Microsoft is a good performer, which might get an edge thanks to the company's investment in generative AI and the copilot functionalities being rolled out at great speed.

A lista de CRM’s disponíveis no mercado é vasta. Então, antes de escolher é preciso mapear as necessidades, e claro, o budget. Há opções no mercado de CRM’s open source, SaaS, on-premise e etc, por isso é importante também entender a cultura da empresa. Além dos CRM’s citados, temos também o Salesforce, um dos mais utilizados por grandes empresas. Porém, como falei, a lista é enorme, por exemplo, temos Pipedrive, RD Station, Monday, Agendor, e muitas outras!

HubSpot CR - Pros:Free and user-friendly, great for contact management and email marketing, integrates well with e-commerce platforms. - Cons:Most advanced features locked behind paid plans, may lack specific e-commerce customizations. Zoho CRM - Pros:Versatile cloud-based CRM, supports multiple e-commerce integrations, excels in sales automation and marketing. - Cons:Free version very limited, complex features only in premium plans. Shopify CRM - Pros:Seamlessly integrated with Shopify, strong in order management and marketing. - Cons:Best for Shopify users, less effective for other platforms, top features require paid plans.

Sendinblue: Sendinblue combines CRM with email marketing. It’s great for businesses aiming to engage customers through targeted email campaigns and automation Zendesk Sell: Zendesk Sell provides a mobile app, team collaboration, and excellent customer service. It’s a solid choice for managing customer interactions on the go

In a marketplace, CRM software organizes and optimizes customer interactions for you, ideal for early stages. For DTC websites, consider starting with CRM after reaching 1,000 customers to effectively manage growing relationships and data.

Make sure to have a clear understanding of the roles and tasks involved in the day-by-day activities upon project completion. There will be multiple procedures and activities to be accomplished by many parts of the organisation, if you want to truly leverage the power of a CRM. Appoint champions and ensure rights training are being delivered.

Keap: Keap (formerly Infusionsoft) focuses on automation and streamlining workflows. It’s suitable for businesses looking to nurture leads, automate follow-ups, and manage customer interactions Pipedrive Pipedrive: Pipedrive is known for its visual pipeline management. It helps you track deals, manage contacts, and streamline sales processes. Its product catalog feature is particularly useful for e-commerce

If, like many modern digital commerce brands, you choose to explore the CDP route, rather than the CRM route, popular options for e-commerce and retail include solutions like Bloomreach Engagement and Twilio Segment.

Loyalty programmes are a big success factor for eCommerce brands. Does your CRM tool support a loyalty programme or can a third-party be integrated very well to execute what you want to execute? Also, with new technologies (i.e. Web3) coming into play, is this something that you are looking to implement as part of your CRM strategy? If so, does the CRM tool support future-proofing your business?