Building Websites That Sell! (Part 3): Behind The Scenes
Yesterday we looked at what statistics have shown customers want from your website. We discovered why it’s so important to get these on-page factors right, in order to keep your users happy and returning often. But as much you should make sure that your website looks and works the best it can - it’s really what happens in the background that can make or break your business.
Today we will be taking a look at ‘the other side’. Behind all good business websites are strong, integrated back-end systems working hard to ensure things run smoothly. These are used to manage many of the regular tasks such as payments, inventory, order tracking, customer data, customer interactions, automatic emails, and finances just to name a few.
If you’re yet to implement a back-end for your website, I suggest you look into the two following systems that can be used to make your online marketing easier and much more effective.
E-Commerce Software
E-Commerce software can be installed on your web server to provide the ‘nuts and bolts’ required to handle many of your customers’ ordering and payment activities. The main features to look for when
choosing e-commerce software for your business website are;
•The ability for customers to order multiple types of products or services
•Member discounting to encourage repeat sales
•A management interface and editor for you to add and change your products or services
•Flexibility to add various delivery and payment options
•An in-site search engine
All good e-commerce software will allow your customers to set up their own accounts, allowing them to log in to the site at any time. The customer’s contact and delivery details are saved in a data base so that they don’t have to enter their information in each time they visit. The data base should also store purchase information, so that you can analyze which customers buy certain product or
services giving you the ability to tailor make specific email messages to different groups.
Recommended E-Commerce Software
• Cube Cart <www.cubecart.com>
• Oscommerce <www.oscommerce.com>
• Zen Cart <www.zen-cart.com>
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software
Implementing a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system can involve a lot of time and expense. Therefore, I usually only recommended it to well developed businesses who are looking to take things to the next level by forming stronger relationships with their customers. Whether or not you are ready at this stage, it’s still good to know for the future that CRM systems have many benefits;
•Better timing and relevance in your email messages to customers due to your ability to anticipate their needs based on historic data
•You are able to identify and meet customer needs more effectively by understanding specific customer requirements and segregating customers into various groups which allows for better targeted marketing messages
•Helps to manage cross-selling and up-selling
•Allows a more personal approach to customers which helps to encourage repeat business
•Higher customer satisfaction and retention, means that your good reputation continues to grow
•You can reduce costs associated with customer service and support, increasing your overall efficiency
With a CRM system you can begin to look after your existing customers quite easily, which allows you to focus on finding new customers. On top of that, the more you know your customers, the easier it is to identify potential new ones. By having your database easily accessible, you can locate where most of your existing customers were found, and concentrate your efforts into getting customers from the same source. You will also know exactly what is needed in order to convert potential customers into sales which will help you to increase your customer base greatly. A good web-based CRM system also allows multiple users to log on at any given time, so anyone within your business (customer service people, etc.) can be given access to the customer information.
I’ve been using Customer Relationship Management system called SugarCRM in one of my businesses for quite a while now. The fact that it is web-based allows me to log in from anywhere in the world and check how things are going with the orders, customer inquiries, quote requests, etc. - all in real time. I can even take a glance at sales figures and assign staff new tasks on the fly. Our system is quite integrated and even connects directly with our supplier. A CRM system like this can be customised to manage every facet of your business - front and back office so it’s well worth looking in to!
Recommended CRM Systems
• SugarCRM <www.sugarcrm.com>
• Net Suite <www.netsuite.com>
• Sales Force <www.salesforce.com>
Well that just about wraps up this series on Build Websites That Sell. I hope that I have been able to shed some light into a few areas where you can look at improving on your customer acquisition, retention and extension, by creating a website that makes and keeps your customers happy!
To end, check out the video below for a more detailed explanation of Customer Relationship Management. Trust me, it’s worth your time. Enjoy!
June 26th, 2008 at 9:35 am
Hahah that video is a classic! nice one heath.
June 26th, 2008 at 9:37 am
Heath, I’d like to know a bit more about your CRM system. How exactly does it work?