The Relationship Between eCommerce & CRM

eCommerce and CRM combine to form eCRM.

Customer relationship management (CRM) and eCommerce are so closely related that the acronym eCRM is used to describe the combination of internet business and CRM systems.

Basics

Many of the companies that use CRM operate an online business format. An internet sales or service portal is referred to as the front-end component of eCRM, while CRM software and infrastructure is considered the back-end solution.

Customers

Internet sales and service not only provide income for businesses, they offer a very efficient and automated process for gathering important data about customers. Upon registration or sign up, companies capture basic profile data and store it in the back end. As sales are made and service is delivered, more customer data is capture by CRM software.

Partners and Suppliers

Interactions with partners and suppliers are also key to integrating eCommerce and CRM. Part of CRM is efficient supply chain management, whereby companies communicate openly with partners and vendors to ensure quality and efficiency for the end consumer. Some CRM users share sales data directly with suppliers and partners online through what is referred to as electronic data interchange.

References

• CRM Buyer: CRM and E-Commerce: The Integration Payoff
• Evolve Partners: eCommerce and CRM

Resources

• Destination CRM: E-commerce Best Practices Make Perfect