We are all aware of the hype & publicity surrounding e-commerce and the associated jargon and "buzz-words" - ISP`s, web sites, 24x7x365, bandwidth, etc. etc., but how many business people are integrating their existing or proposed e-commerce strategy with a sound CRM program and good organisation design? David Lees & Jeff Lomey of Cape based E2E Business Solutions (http://www.e2e.co.za) will be discussing this issue at the Cape Chamber of Commerce` E-Commerce symposium at the Baxter Theatre this month. (http://www.capechamber.co.za).
"We believe that many business people, especially those in the SME sector, are either implementing or learning about e-commerce initiatives," commented David Lees, director of E2E. "How many of these people have considered the internal organisation design of their organisations as well as the processes to handle the transaction flow from their web-site & consequent contact follow-up procedures?"
According to Lees, the core business philosophy in today`s business environment has got to be the desire to provide excellent customer service - if you don`t, your competitors will! With this in mind, it is vital to ensure that the organisation structure does not have any processes, which hinder the ability to provide customer service. "It`s not good enough to train your personnel to be customer-friendly if they are not empowered to resolve service issues without routing the issue through an inefficient hierarchy. In many of today`s organisations, hierarchical structures are outdated and add to customer (and employee) frustrations. Frustrated customers quickly lead to lost customers," says Jeff Lomey, a specialist in organisation design.
Whether or not an organisation has implemented a web based commerce strategy, a CRM program will enhance & grow the business. Assuming an e-commerce program is in place and the organisation design can support the program, it is even more imperative to ensure that CRM is taken care of. "Many e-commerce offerings are great at providing attractive and easy to use web interfaces for customers & suppliers but stop short at providing a means to track contact events and follow-up thereafter," said Lees.
"Technology advancement, the Internet and easy to use software have enabled corporations to really make use of contact information. Personal preferences, customer profile details, as well as a complete history of dealings with a customer all assist a corporation to follow up efficiently. It`s also possible to target marketing campaigns successfully (and cost-effectively) using the database of information accumulated in a CRM application.
"It is an often quoted (and very valid) maxim that it is 7-10 times more expensive to win a new customer than it is to expand the revenue generated from an existing customer. An effective CRM strategy combined with efficient Customer-Facing Organisation Design results in happy & loyal customers and the consequent maximisation of returns at the least possible cost," concluded Lees
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