An A to Z of eCRM - V

V is for Value

Where Value is a two-way street.

It’s not just about what your consumers can do for you, but more importantly what you can do for them.

It’s all about Value Exchange. You need to show the consumers what’s in it for them. Why should I give you my email address? Why should I sign up to your Facebook page? Why should I sign up for your rewards scheme? Without a clear benefit (which admittedly might at some stage only be because they want to be associated with a cool brand), there is no reason for a consumer to give you Permission to engage with them.

Of course different customers provide you with differing levels of value, but let’s not just judge value in terms of revenue. Value can also be based on their ability to influence others, or by how many touch-points they engage with you.

And conversely, all customers are equal, but it’s just that some are more equal than others.

An A to Z of eCRM - U

U is for Ubiquity

Good eCRM is everywhere and nowhere.

It’s not just about marketing messages but service messages that help me build confidence in buying online or offline from you.It’s helping me connect with other similar consumers to share reviews and recommendations.

It’s valued, relevant, engaging, and useful. Good for the customer and the organisation.

Bad eCRM is in your face.

It’s ignoring my privacy and preferences to send me unwanted communications.

It’s intrusive, pushy, irrelevant, exploitative, salesy

Do the good stuff, not the bad stuff

An A to Z of eCRM - T

T is for Targeting and Segmentation

Segmentation + Targeting = Relevance

And remember that Targeting and Segmentation is multi-dimensional. From a consumer’s perspective it’s all 

about understanding

Who I am

What I am

Where I am

When I am

Ultimately, this keeps the consumer happy and makes your own marketing more efficient.

(Chart taken from somewhere..but I cant remember where..sorry)

An A to Z of eCRM - S

S is for Social

Social is everywhere but it is not the same thing to everyone.

Social has become big at double speed because it gives people a way of doing what comes naturally to them, expressing themselves, whether that be the sharing of stories, complaining, giving advice or just generally hanging out for no real reason.

But you can’t crowbar Social into your Marketing Programmes. It’s either a natural fit or it isn’t.

It doesn’t have to involve a ‘conversation’ between you and the consumer, but it could be a way of you giving the consumers an opportunity to talk with each other, or just allow people to win stuff!!

So for Social don’t just see Facebook and Twitter. Also see blogs, communities, forums, ratings and reviews and so on.

An A to Z of eCRM - R

R is for ROI 

At the end of the day engagement and conversation are important, but essentially it does boil down to it all being about the conversion so measurement and evaluation are key.

Return on Investment is a key cornerstone of direct, digital and data.

But what should we measure? Many marketers stop after the first few steps. Opens, clicks, shares, reviews, recommendations are key metrics but we must not stop there. But what we need to understand is how these initial consumer indicators ultimately translate  into Return