What eCRMs all about Put simply, eCRM means CRMdatabase access via the Web.

It means Intranet access for internal users, extranet access for business partners and customers and of course, Internet access for the market at lar e. !s "ell as this "ider accessibility, eCRM enables ne" marketin opportunities. Web marketin , Web self service, automated response to email re#uests, remote data "arehouse access, inte rated marketin channels, etc $ lets look at some of the advanta es% &or example, the Web offers an additional marketin channel. &or marketers the Web is #uite different to other channels in an important "ay $ everythin can be captured and tracked, because by definition every re#uest, response, contact, transaction is carried out on the system $ potentially nothin is lost. !nother important difference is that Web marketin can be focused more on the needs of the buyer. 'ou can build a Web environment based on the "ay the customers prefer to do business $ indeed if you don(t they "ill pass you by) ! further example is the ability to offer self-service. Prospects and customers can access product details, prices, delivery, they can place an order* they can book onto a seminar or trainin course. +hey can re#uest information, access a bulletin board, lo a support call, access a self-support database, and check pro ress of an action previously lo ed. Plan to do eCRM right +he Web is offerin the customer an additional "ay of contactin the enterprise and doin business. Customers "ill choose "hich contact channel is most effective for them -

eCRM means reater efficiency, you don(t "aste their time and they don(t "aste yours. ,ut, and it(s a bi but, the system is capturin far more information about the customer than ever before. -o it ri ht and you can become the easiest company to do business "ith $ "hich brin s us back to the ori inal ob.ectives of CRM customer ac#uisition, customer retention, customer development. &rom a marketin -measurement point of vie", all this is very excitin indeed. Consider some of the leadin -atabase Marketin literature of the late /012s 3e. . Rapp and Collins* 4ha" and 4tone* Moriarty and 4ch"art56. +heir premise "as that marketin Campai n Mana ement "as all about capturin every point of dialo ue "ith the market, prospects and customers to enable accurate measurement of marketin effectiveness and to use this to plan future campai ns and events, continuously improvin their effectiveness $ doin more of "hat "orked and avoidin "hat didn(t. +his vision has never really been realised because much of the information in more traditional direct marketin campai ns is lost alon the process. Studying a campaign for guidance Contrast the follo"in extract from a Web campai n "ith a traditional direct mail event. &irst, "e advertise our Web site throu h focused media and direct mail. 7very "eb-hit is captured and is attributed to the advertisin event. Multiple choices are offered to the respondent e. . re#uest information* book onto an event* self #ualify*

-------------------- White Paper What is eCRM? -------------------contact a salesman* purchase product etc $ all is captured and tracked by the database. More than that $ "e can respond from the system and automatically ackno"led e the response, "e can fulfil very rapidly $ most probably directly from the system. We can route the en#uiry to "here ever and "ho ever is best to deal "ith it based on self #ualification data captured $ at each subse#uent sta e do"n the process each player in enterprise "ill have access to the complete picture so far. We have captured everythin * therefore "e can measure the process. eCRM is limited only by the creativity of the marketer. Do we move to eCRM now? 'ou may be askin yourself at this point 84hould I be replacin my current 9conventional( CRM system "ith eCRM:; or if you are considerin CRM for the first time, you may be thinkin , 84hould I not bother "ith CRM but .ump strai ht to eCRM:; Wait) <et(s look at the pros and cons of both before ans"erin these #uestions. Puttin the 9access( issue to one side for a moment, conventional CRM systems offer very po"erful capability particularly to your intensive users. +hese people, "ho are lar ely officebased, "ill need the po"er of Windo"s and direct database access on the <!= $ ,ro"ser access "ould not be the environment of choice for these users. !s an existin CRM user, your company "ill have invested in a client server infrastructure $ there is no business reason to re-e#uip and re-train these people. If you are a first time CRM purchaser you need to tread carefully "hen considerin the so-called ne" 9Webarchitected( products $ these are in

their infancy and many of the ne" entrant companies have little core competence in CRM. 'ou may be sho"n an attractive frontend but "hat(s behind it: Is there a "ell-developed CRM database structure: Is the entire CRM process functionality inte rated end to end: What if you "ant to chan e datastructure, screens, navi ation and userprocesses to match your business: With most of these Web-architected products you probably "on(t be able to "ithout ettin into serious customisation) Which approach to adopt? ! total Web solution may not be the best solution for many or anisations, the optimum solution is likely to be a mix of conventional and Web capability - the best of both "orlds. +he most effective approach to Customer Mana ement relies on more than one technolo y. oo! for pedigree <eadin CRM solutions such as CRMsoft from Chapelfield 4ystems offer both Client-4erver CRM and

-------------------- White Paper What is eCRM? -------------------Web-CRM inte rated in a sin le system. CRMsoft system has evolved from over /> years of CRM pedi ree. +he system is steeped in sales, marketin and customer service functionality. Indeed, over /222 standard business processes are available and this library expands continuously. +he system offers one of the most po"erful CRM functionality sets on the market today as "ell as ultimate confi urability $ the system is so open, an authorised-user can chan e the data structure, screens and processes "ithout touchin the source-code. +his is all very "ell for a conventional CRM system, but "hat about eCRM: Chapelfield 4ystems has developed a Web-publisher, "hich can deploy all existin client-server confi urations to run in Web pa es accessible by any Web ,ro"ser. +here is no special Web development needed* this means the use of common processes bet"een all user communities "hether they are Windo"s Client-4erver users or Webbro"ser users. 4ecurity and accessri hts for different user communities is controlled by a sophisticated ri htsmana ement system. C4< calls the approach 9confi ure once $ deploy any"here(. &i ure ? describes the inte rated CRMsoft client-server and eCRM architecture. Conclusion In conclusion, eCRM takes conventional CRM to ne" hei hts. Combinin the technolo ies of conventional and Web CRM opens Customer Relationship Mana ement to all participants in the process, inside and outside the enterprise. @sers can access the CRM system via PCs or <aptops usin Windo"s or via the Web usin a ,ro"ser. !s "e move to"ards W!P 3Wireless !pplication Protocol6 devices, costeffective access "ill increase still further. eCRM takes us one step further to"ards harnessin the true database marketin philosophy.

-------------------- White Paper What is eCRM? --------------------

Figure 4 - CRMsoft Architecture