Zappos has been mentioned several times throughout our reading of Business Driven Technology. Here is the Zappos website.
Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:
Consider whether you are for or against the following statement in the electronic age: Customer relationships are more important than ever, and Zappos provides the new benchmark that all corporations should follow. Select a side in the argument and justify your answer.
Does Zappos use a CRM? How can the use of a CRM support business operations?
What are the benefits and challenges of using a CRM in a business?
What would you suggest as best practices that should be used for a CRM to be successful? Explain your answer.
Week 4 Discussion: Popularity of E-Commerce
The increasing popularity of e-commerce websites and applications paved the way for the significant importance of customer relationship management. The impact of good customer relationship management is it creates customer loyalty and retention which affects the revenue of the business. Zappos Customer service has been used as a reference model for excellent customer service. Organizations should benchmark to their best practices few these are stated below:
Easy to find contact information
Limited Unlimited Call times
Friendly and Solution-oriented representatives
Real-time customer support
Having these customer-focused features will greatly improve your CRM model.
Yes, the customer service used by Zappos is an excellent example of Customer Relationship Management.
CRM is a tool needed for business management. It is primarily used to maximize customer communications and sales efforts. In the aspect of business management, CRMs are used to automate the record-keeping of customer information and archive them for ease of use. This information is streamlined to all users in the business for reference purposes and to generate leads and increase overall company revenue (Ebrahimi, 2021, P.5).
Using CRM software in business brings benefits and challenges. The primary benefit the company gains from the usage of CRM is the ability to understand the needs of its customers and use this to connect with them more efficiently. Data gathered from CRM applications can be used in Business Analytics and create marketing strategies to increase profit and generate more leads. However, there are also challenges faced during CRM implementation that need constant action from the business owners. One of the major challenges is having too much data but less action. Customer information is not effectively managed and analyzed to gain more insight into possible customers (Al Jafa, 2020, P.337). Another notable challenge is short-termism, CRM agents tend to compare the importance of each customer being handled. It should be avoided and all customers should be treated in an equal manner.
It can be said that the model and best practices presented by Zappos are worthy of competition. Giving customers real value for their money’s worth, providing them with excellent after-sales support, and ensuring 24/7 availability and no-hassle transactions is an effective way to implement Customer Relationship Management successfully.
References
Al Jafa, H. (2020). A case study for the CRM software selection process in a transportation company using an integrated AHP and QFD approach. Al Jafa, H.(2020). A CASE STUDY FOR THE CRM SOFTWARE SELECTION PROCESS IN A TRANSPORTATION COMPANY USING AN INTEGRATED AHP AND QFD APPROACH. SEA-Practical Application of Science,(24), 337-351.
Ebrahimi, M. (2021). Analysis of the impact of customer relationship management on innovation acquisition using agent-based modeling. In Driving Innovation and Productivity Through Sustainable Automation (pp. 1-28). IGI Global.
