Increasing efficiency through digitalization: the interaction of e-commerce, customer service, and CRM in the customer portal

Digitalization is a key to business success in the modern economy. In particular, the interaction of e-commerce, customer service, including self-service capabilities, and customer relationship management (CRM) within a digital portal plays a central role.

E-commerce in the digital portal: access to products and services

E-commerce is one of the core elements of a digital portal. It enables companies to provide their customers and business partners with seamless access to products and services. This includes not only traditional online sales, but also the provision of information about products and services, order processing, and access to important documents.

Self-services: The path to efficiency

In both the B2B and B2C sectors, self-service enables customers to access information or complete transactions on their own, without having to interact directly with an agent. This has several benefits:

• Cost reduction: Every customer service call incurs costs. Self-services such as FAQ pages, easy re-ordering, direct access to shipments, invoices and invoice status, or automated order tracking significantly reduce these costs.
• Relief for customer service and sales: routine inquiries and recurring transactions are shifted to the portal so that employees can concentrate on more complex inquiries or those where personal contact is critical.
• Automatisierung: Automation: Self-services and the automation of processes improve the availability of employees through to the product and help to reduce errors  .

CRM: The bridge between e-commerce and customer service / self-service

Customer relationship management (CRM) plays a central role in the interplay between e-commerce and customer service/self-service. An effective CRM system integrates customer data and interactions from all analog and digital channels, enabling personalized and efficient customer care. It also supports the digitalization of processes in this area:

• Process digitalization: By integrating e-commerce and CRM, more complex sales processes can be digitized. Examples include price negotiations and the price negotiations and the quotation process (configure-price-quote).
• Data integration: A CRM system collects and manages all customer data centrally. This enables a 360-degree view of the customer and improves the personalization of digital and analog offerings, self-service options, and face-to-face interactions.
• Customer analysis: By analyzing customer behavior and preferences, companies can continuously optimize their sales activities and product and service offerings.
• Proactive customer care: CRM systems enable companies to proactively respond to customer needs, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Improve efficiency by integrating e-commerce, customer service, and CRM

The combination of e-commerce, customer service, and CRM leads to a significant increase in efficiency:

• Cost efficiency: Reducing call volume and automating processes lowers operating costs.
• Productivity: Reduced agent workload and faster resolution of customer inquiries increase productivity.
• Satifsfaction: A well-designed digital portal with comprehensive self-service options and an integrated CRM system increases customer satisfaction and loyalty, even in face-to-face interactions.

Conclusion

Digitalization and the convergence of e-commerce, customer service, and CRM offer companies many benefits. They not only enable significant cost reductions and efficiency gains, but also increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. Companies that recognize and capitalize on these synergies will gain a sustainable competitive advantage in an increasingly digital world.