Is EspoCRM the right CRM system for you?

Would you like to increase the return on investment (ROI) of your digital e-commerce marketing strategies? CRM strategies for e-commerce are the most efficient way, because by engaging your existing customer base you reduce the need to constantly invest in acquiring new customers, which leads to a higher profitability of your online shop.

What is CRM?

If you work with online sales, you probably already know that customer loyalty is very important. Regardless of industry or niche market, building and maintaining quality customer relationships is a key factor for success.

CRM is the abbreviation for "Customer Relationship Management". The ability to collect a large amount of information about customers in an organised way is a fundamental aspect of a CRM system that aims to put the customer at the centre of the business, create good relationships with the online shop's consumers and also attract new customers. Every interaction a company has with prospects or customers generates strategic information.

Automated business solutions are essential for dealing with so much content. They help to get to know potential customers and, based on this, generate more accurate offers, sell more, structure suitable marketing campaigns and increase customer satisfaction.

Although this definition may seem a little abstract, what CRM does is quite practical. The system works on different e-commerce touchpoints so that all business phases work harmoniously and you can offer consumers a good service at all stages of the purchase.

What is the purpose of a CRM?

With a good CRM tool, it is possible to understand how the consumer buying journey works, i.e. you can analyse user behaviour. In addition, this technology makes it possible to collect emails from users who browse the website, which makes it possible, for example, to send messages in the event of purchase cancellation. CRM solutions for small businesses therefore help to make the most of the user's visit and do everything possible to convert this visit into sales.

Why is it important to introduce CRM for your online shop?

This software enables the e-commerce manager to have a customer-centred integrated management system. It is important to emphasise that CRM software not only brings the customer closer to the company, but also helps to acquire new customers. After all, the better the entrepreneur knows his existing customers, the greater the chances of identifying new customers and attracting them to his business.

CRM is also referred to as an "integrated system" because it must be available for different areas of the company. In other words, not only the sales department needs access to the software, but also the marketing, technical support and customer service departments.

It is not only large companies that need this software. However, this is a technology that is also of interest to medium-sized and small companies, as all entrepreneurs need to know their target group. In addition, a CRM solution also helps to increase e-commerce sales: it is the basis for a successful business.

Advantages of CRM for e-commerce

Acquiring a new customer costs up to 5 times more than retaining a customer who already has a connection to your brand. This has an impact on the profitability of your company.

1. CRM helps to improve relationships with active customers

One of the main benefits of using a CRM system is better customer satisfaction. This means that the maintenance, marketing and sale of your products are organised and systematically managed. In this way, you improve the strategic sales management of your company. You can also improve customer service by better understanding their problems.

This enables salespeople to make precise offers at the right time, focussing in particular on cross-selling and upselling. Thanks to the tracking that the CRM platform enables, the chances of this offer being taken up are huge!

2. CRM helps to win new customers

Customer acquisition goes far beyond a simple phone call or approach to offer a product or service. Whether by email or message, your customer needs to have a good experience from start to finish, business strategies need to be developed and constantly monitored.

To help the lead decide in favour of your product, you need to know your customer's profile and understand their needs and special features. The CRM system is the right technology to make all this information accessible and automated.

3. CRM increases the average shopping basket value

It really is possible to increase numbers with the help of this tool. The reason is simple: it allows you to understand the customer's needs, what they expect and what stage of the consumer experience they are currently in. With this strategic information, it is much easier to lead each prospect or customer to conversions, i.e. sales!

With the data collected by the CRM system, you also give sellers information about their entire sales history, including the average basket value. The salesperson can analyse which items are purchased most frequently by customers. This allows new (similar or additional) products and services to be offered.

4. CRM improves communication within the sales team

A good CRM solution also helps to establish better communication within the sales department. However, the exchange of data between different employees and even with other departments (e.g. sales and marketing) means that everyone knows the customers better. For example, instead of contacting support staff, a sales representative needs to access information about a specific customer in the system.

5. CRM gives the sales manager more management authority

Good CRM software is also a management tool that allows managers to monitor the productivity of sales staff and other indicators. With just a few clicks, it is possible to generate reports on the performance of each individual salesperson or the entire team. This helps to set targets and demand results.

6. Better use of time

Individualised workflows mean that entrepreneurs and employees lose valuable time every day. Measures such as sending birthday emails or direct mail can be carried out using the tool. The system segments customers according to different needs and can carry out specific actions for each group. This saves a lot of time.

EspoCRM - outstanding CRM solution for e-commerce

EspoCRM is an open-source CRM solution for small, medium and medium-sized companies. The system can be used in many industries, for example in wholesale and retail, e-commerce, banking and finance, call centres, manufacturing companies, educational projects, tour operators and hotels, medicine and pharmacy as well as insurance companies.

The software has been on the market since 2014 and has gained the trust of many users. Over 50,000 companies in 163 countries use EspoCRM. It offers interfaces to Outlook, G-Mail, MailChimp and many other systems, which are available as extensions. These additional systems are very important in e-commerce.

EspoCRM is available to consumers as a free open source and a paid cloud solution. In the first case, all data is stored locally, on your own server. Users can make any changes to the code to customise the system to their needs. The database has no volume restrictions.

In the second case, the solution does not need to be installed on your own server and can be used immediately after downloading. The cloud version is subject to a charge (EUR 20 per user) and you are connected to the manufacturer. In this case, no customisations can be made in the code.

What are the advantages of EspoCRM?

• Intuitively understandable CRM system. EspoCRM is very well structured and has a clear user interface. It is displayed responsively on all end devices. Thanks to its good usability, no training is required to work successfully with the system.
• Customisation and configuration. EspoCRM can be fully customised to the specific needs of each individual company. You can configure layouts, set fields, entities and relationships - the administrator has Layout Manager and Entity Manager at his disposal.

• Expandable and integrable. The EspoCRM solution offers integration with Mail Chimp, VoIP telephony, Google Calendar, LinkedIn and XING, Microsoft Outlook and other systems. It also has its own API, which makes it possible to connect any third-party system.
• Data security. EspoCRM has extended data access options. The administrator can set the roles and teams and access rights for these roles and teams so that each user can only create, view, change and remove certain preset data. The system is therefore very flexible and secure.

• Reporting. The Advanced Pack includes the Reporting module, which allows reports to be configured, saved and analysed.
• Activities. This function allows you to track all changes made, comment on and create certain posts and much more. All processes are clearly recognisable.

You can find a detailed list of all EspoCRM functions on the Manufacturer websites.

EspoCRM also has a forum for users where they can ask questions and get help from the community. The forum contains various topics for the convenience of users and is active, which also indicates that the system is being actively developed.

Are you considering the introduction of EspoCRM for your company? We would be happy to help you so that you don't have to worry about server hardware requirements, operating systems, optimisations and configurations. We will take over these processes and customise EspoCRM to your company's needs. Our agency has been working with EspoCRM for a long time - the implementation costs are low. We offer you an excellent price-performance ratio and you will benefit from EspoCRM advantages very quickly.

If you would like more information about possible solutions for your business, we recommend our article about Navision ERP and about the Comparison of Shopify, Magento and Shopware.