Statistical data shows that CRM has become a key software application for the informatization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The scale of the SME CRM market has currently reached $8 billion, and in the next five years, this market will rapidly grow to $1.8 billion, accounting for more than 30% of the entire CRM market. Among the surveyed SMEs, half of the companies are implementing CRM projects, while the other half plans to implement CRM projects. Among various information systems, SMEs have the highest satisfaction with the use of CRM software, with a satisfaction rate exceeding 80%. Among these, as high as 46.4% of SMEs are very satisfied with their current CRM software.
With the rapid development of e-commerce, e-commerce and customer relationship management (CRM) are essential topics that need to be explored in the industry. E-commerce is self-evident, and CRM is a system that uses modern technical means to coordinate the operation of customers, competition, and brands, achieving overall optimization. Its goal is to enhance the competitive ability of enterprises in the market, support long-term customer relationships, continuously discover new sales service opportunities, and ultimately achieve continuous growth in sales revenue, profit, and shareholder value for the enterprise.
E-commerce and CRM complement each other. It can be said that the emergence of e-commerce has created true CRM, and CRM has achieved true e-commerce. Although CRM is important, it may be the most crucial when managing e-commerce operations. Advanced CRM applications must leverage internet tools and platforms to synchronize and precisely manage various customer relationships and channel relationships. Suitable and supporting the development strategy of e-commerce, it ultimately becomes a fundamental driving force for realizing e-commerce. E-commerce is a basic and primary strategy for the development of CRM. The first wave of the internet revolution was reflected in companies starting to establish their own websites; the next step was using e-commerce to conduct online transactions with customers via the internet. The third wave of e-commerce will require companies to truly achieve personalization in their interactions with customers. For example, Duoshang.com, as a one-stop B2B e-commerce platform, integrates CRM applications, combining opportunity management with customer management.
CRM promotes the realization of e-commerce. The "e" transformation of CRM also manifests as comprehensive expansion. CRM expands to all business levels of the enterprise's front and back ends, and it assumes an even more important task: supporting and developing e-commerce. The CRM system not only needs to provide interfaces for e-commerce but also comprehensively supports and develops e-commerce. The entire set of electronic solutions included in the CRM system should be able to support e-commerce sales methods such as B2B and B2C transactions and meet the needs of enterprises for personalized one-to-one marketing and electronic storefront establishment. In terms of payment, it should support and enhance the capabilities of internet and client/server applications. In customer service, CRM's self-service customer support application software allows customers to submit service requests online and link to call centers, creating a closed-loop customer support environment, etc. More and more components need to be established on web browsers to meet the real-time data access requirements of rapidly growing e-commerce.
CRM is just a subset of e-commerce. When we talk about e-commerce, it doesn't just refer to webpage design or the model of online stores. All means that can promote the transition from "mass production" to "mass customization" (digital information storage and exchange, wireless communication, information...) should contribute to the consistent corporate culture. Marketing consulting notes - the "eight sins" obstructing the growth of small water purification enterprises...