Customer relationship management (CRM) in the e-business environment depends on thorough genuine online analytics, which provides an understanding of the nature of a browser`s behaviour pattern, rather than a mere "click tracking exercise".
"eCRM is based on comprehensive e-marketplace analytics understanding, rather than traditional CRM put onto an e-commerce base," says Marc Scheepbouwer, marketing director at Global Technology Business Intelligence (GBI). "It is of little use trying to apply conventional CRM procedures to an e-commerce platform," Scheepbouwer says. "You need real intelligence, which is a step up from analysis of clickstream data."
Most packages claiming to offer CRM on e-commerce applications do little more than traditional log file data collection.
"This does not tell you who is visiting a Web site, what their behavioural patterns are, and it cannot predict what they are likely to do. Log files focus on frequency, and today the emphasis has moved on to the quality of hits and transactions, rather than just volume."
Employing sniffer technology, technologies are available which work like a tollgate, providing a proactive approach to Web users. "Sniffer technology allows for the predetermination of profiles, analysis, and it can be integrated with a data warehouse to provide a deep understanding of who is using the e-commerce platform, from where, why and how," Scheepbouwer continues.
Once a user is on a Web site, it is of great value to know their overall website experience in terms of navigability and facility use. "A company will need to know how long a user spent on a particular page; if they have been there before; what the purpose was of the visit - for instance, if it was procurement-oriented; and if the user`s navigational experience was conducive to their not abandoning a shopping trolley," he says.
"Answering all of these questions goes back to basic Web site design, which in turn relies on the intelligence a company can gather about its e-commerce users." Ultimately, the focus of eCRM is the same as conventional CRM - that of marketing to existing customers in a way that will cause them to become repeat customers.
"eCRM, however, places additional demands on the CRM application which can so often be impersonal, denying the chance to generate personal contacts. For this reason, any company wanting to implement an eCRM solution must ensure that it is able to provide real, proactive intelligence, and not just historical analysis, or a review of what has occurred," concludes Scheepbouwer.
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