Amazon

There’s a famous saying from the CRM Strategist Brent Leary about Amazon CRM,
which we believe should be the essence for all ecommerce businesses. According to him,
over the course of 17 years that he has spent shopping on Amazon, never once he felt the
need of contacting the customer service.
Yes, the beauty of Amazon CRM lies with its comprehensive and customer-oriented
approach. It’s a dream CRM that runs seamlessly every time, giving customers a 100%
smooth online shopping experience with zero compromises of safe transactions or downtime.
This is why customers become loyal followers of the Amazon marketplace because they no
longer need to worry about the quality of the product or having to run after the customer
support team to pull off a product purchase.

Create an Interactive User-Interface

Basically, the beauty of Amazon CRM starts with its highly intuitive and easy to use
user-interface (UI) that makes using the website a bliss for all online shoppers. The interface
is minimal, decluttered, navigable, and easy to understand. Here are some of the elements that
make CRM Amazon a winner in all perspective:
 High-quality images (customers can see the actual product)
 Precise description (everything customers would like to know about the product)
 Clearly visible prices
 Bold and visible ratings
 Structured categories
 Easy and clear checkout process
All of these elements make shopping with Amazon much similar to what shopping at the
grocery store looks like, in fact with a better shopping experience. Just like with the
traditional grocery store, if you need flour, you will get all types and sizes of flour right at the
baking aisle. Just pick up one which you want and proceed to checkout. Shopping experience
with Amazon is not much different.

Make Self-Help Easy

Apart from a comprehensive user-interface, Amazon also maintained a robust and
impressive help centre. Whether you want to review your order, manage accounts, check out
the FAQs or contact customer support representatives, you can access all pages from a single
screen. Also, if you aren’t able to find the right answer for your query, you can always search
it down with the search bar.
Interestingly, this doesn’t end here. In fact, all of these help and support resources are just the
beginning and there are tons of other useful help resourced available in form of articles,
which again you can easily access to find support for whatever you may need. Basically,
Amazon CRM takes a similar approach towards the help and support resources, as they take
for their product pages. You can search either the complete categories or a specific product.
The benefit of such a vast volume of help and support resources is that customers are able to
find all the support they need by themselves and don’t have to waste time waiting in line for
the customer service representatives to answer their queries. And since the Amazon maintain
such impressive help and support resources, they actually encourage customers to find their
answers themselves, thereby, significantly cutting times for those few customers who want
live agent’s help.

Provide Human Support

While it’s great to have a large and impressive help and support resources, live agent
support is unavoidable. In fact, there are always people who like to talk to a customer
representative to find a way out of their queries.
And while Amazon does encourage customers to help themselves with their support
resources, they also maintain a robust and imposing customer representative team that can be
accessed via phone, email, or live chat.
If you haven’t already tried the Amazon phone support, the best part about their service is
that when you decide to get connected with them, they are right there to support you. Yes, no
frustrating waiting times. Even better, the help support is available 24/7, so they have your
back whenever you need it.
Have you tried the “Mayday for the fire”? it’s surely one of the craziest and coolest
innovation from Amazon, where all you have to do is to tap twice to get connected with the
live support agent who will guide you through the problem.  
To get things even crazier, Amazon resolved to get customers connected with the live agent
within 15seconds and they were able to achieve that under 10 seconds, talk about customer
service. While the Mayday was discontinued in 2018, customers who used the service still
remember it as an astounding example of Amazon’s resolve towards customer service.
Communicate Challenges
As we are writing this, the world is going through an unprecedented challenge of
COVID-19. This is a time where Amazon customers are facing many problems including
delayed delivery, stocks going out, delays in the refund, and many more. All of these
problems haven’t been experienced before by Amazon customers and while Amazon can’t do
anything about this, they have done what they should and could do. They have informed
clearly communicated to their customers about the situation and the pressing challenges faced
by the company.
The Amazon site runs bold banners warning customers to expect delays and other problems.
The company has also published various articles to make aware customers about the situation
in depth. All of this to ensure that the customers are aware of the challenges and that they
don’t leave disappointed for the shopping experience with Amazon.

Loyalty Incentives
As we mentioned earlier, Amazon Prime is one of the best loyalty programs in the
world. And no, it isn’t just us but it’s according to various polls and studies that have ranked
Amazon Prime as the best model for a loyalty program. The program comprises crazy
amounts of incentives including; discounted and faster delivery, highly customized content
(Movies, TV, video games, and more); priority access to Amazon deals and the list just goes
on from there.
Customers willing to become part of the Amazon prime are just required to spend USD 120
annually with the company. Honestly, this is as tempting as it can get and that’s one reason
why an insane number of people have started to spend more on purchasing from Amazon;
just for the motivation of getting into the premier Prime Club. And all of these increased
spends give Amazon a chance to recover the cost of incentives offered to the Prime members
– a win-win situation for everyone.

Protecting Customers
Last but not least, Amazon protects its customers. Amazon understands the value of
protecting its customers against any fraud or ill-intention third-part sellers who can quickly
become the black marks for the company. And they set the right examples for the third-party
sellers by strictly following the rules themselves.
While it’s rare for Amazon to lack its service standards and when it does rarely happen, they
don’t shy away from accepting their mistake and remedying it quickly. For instance, once my
order for a computer mouse was sent to the wrong address. When I explained the situation to
the Amazon, they simply resend the order with expedited shipping without any questions
being asked.
From that day onwards, I have been a loyal customer of Amazon.

Amazon CRM Problems

Ok, the Amazon CRM may be just too good for customers, however, when it comes
to third-party sellers, the Amazon and CRM does come with some serious limitations. Below
we have come up with some pressing problems with the CRM Amazon:

Low barrier for becoming Amazon Consultant

Many sellers look up to authentic and experienced Amazon consultants to guide them
through the process of selling with Amazon. However, unfortunately, there is almost no
barrier for claiming to be an Amazon seller consultant. The company doesn’t run any official
certification, which means that literally, anyone can stand up to claim as the Amazon
Consultant. Thereby, it is important for the sellers to perform the due diligence when looking
for an experienced and expert Amazon consultant who can help with the operations and data.

Cross-Border Currency Management

For sellers who are selling their products on Amazon’s international marketplace, it
can be too expensive to pay an upward of 3.5% to 4% transaction fee to Amazon to handle
the currency exchange. This is especially a problem for sellers offering low-margin products,
in which case the fees can become too cumbersome for business sustainability. Fortunately,
enough, there are some solution providers that can help sellers streamline their process while
cutting the cost in half and saving you sizeable margins that you would have lost otherwise.
Some of the solution providers that can help sellers around with this issue include:
 Currencies Direct             
 Pioneer           
 World first

 Automate Messaging

Unless you are ready to sign-in to your seller account 24 hours and every day of the
year, there’s always a chance of missing out on a customer’s query within the 24 hour period,
which leaves you with compromised customer service; something that isn’t just bad for your
business but may also leave you noticeable as a seller for Amazon. And if you don’t want to
get stuck at your chair and table every hour of the year, you can use automated messaging
tools to help you out. There are various auto messaging tools that can be deployed to send
customers’ instant generic responses to at least let them know you are there. These tools
actually buy you the time to spend the weekend with your family and get back to customers
with a more elaborative response within a couple of business days. Some of the auto
messaging tools include:
 Desk.com           
 Freshdesk                         
 Zendesk

Folio3 is your amazon CRM technology partner

Folio3 offers its clients with robust and seamless Amazon CRM integration services.
Our integrated CRM integrated approach enables customers to transform the working
approach and adopt the best practices. By seamlessly connecting the clients with the Amazon
CRM, we help them save time and effort while maximizing productivity.
Over the years, we have completed hundreds of Amazon CRM software integration projects
worldwide, offering a single point solution that is customized to your unique business needs.

Best Amazon CRM Software for Sellers in 2020

Salesforce
Pricing:
starts at $25 for essential package and goes up to $300
Pros:
 A multipurpose E-Commerce CRM Software
 Scalable with the business needs
 Highly customizable with complete automation options
 Powered by artificial intelligence
Cons: 
 Too tough for small businesses not looking to scale in the near future
  To experience the full features of the CRM, you would have to choose a higher
plan
BigCommerce
Pricing: 
starts at $29 for essential package and goes up to $300 and more
Pros:
 Easy to learn and use
 Speedy operations
 Various options for themes
 Scalable
Cons:
 Expensive to avail some functionalities
 Limits on annual online sales
 Quite similar sales
 Limited typefaces in free themes

Channel Advisor
Pricing:
$1000 to $12000 and more
Pros 
 Amazing workflow automation
 Multi-channel integration
 Incredible user-interface 
Cons:
 Too much expensive (crazy pricing for liking of most businesses)
 Often needs IT support for even small glitches
 Fixed contracts

Shopify

Pricing:
Starts from free trial version to $25 lite version and goes up to $66 and more for enterprise
version
Pros
 Shopify CRM is ranked among the best CRMs for 
 features and customer satisfaction
 Multi-channel platform
 Excellent inventory system to manage store
Cons
 Transaction fee charged, if you are not using Shopify Payments
 Apps add up to the store when extra features are added

Amazon

Pricing:
Starts at $0.05 per hour, differ for different regions and fulfilment options
Pros
 Massive customer base
 High credibility 
 Robust back-end infrastructure
Cons
 Expensive fees
 No control over branding
 No customer loyalty

Apple’s CRM strategy: the secret to success

“You’ve gotta start with the customer experience, and work

backwards to the technology.”
Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder and former CEO

When you take your first Apple product home, you’re asked to create an Apple
ID – a unique profile that syncs across all Apple devices you own. This ID
allows Apple to remember your purchases with the Apple Store, and provide
personalised recommendations for music and films. You can even share content
and cloud storage with other members of your family, and monitor your kids’
purchases.
For Apple, it’s a self-renewing, seemingly limitless data set, allowing it to
constantly tailor its services and re-engage customers with handpicked deals,
discounts, and products. Not only is this targeted marketing done effectively,
but it also engenders a sense of loyalty and familiarity with Apple’s brand
and ethos. 

Apple ID, used in conjunction with Apple’s rich ecosystem of products, is

the core of Amazon’s CRM strategy – and, ergo, its wild and ongoing success.
But that’s not the only trick this Silicon Valley behemoth has up its sleeve. 

No self-respecting article would be complete without a healthy peppering of

Steve Jobs quotes, right? So here are four, each one demonstrating how Apple
walks the talk when it comes to its lofty CRM goals and strategies.

Knowing its customers

“Get closer than ever to your customers. So close, in fact, that you tell them
what they need well before they realise it themselves.”

It’s an ambitious aspiration, but one that Apple follows through on.
Apple’s consistently high NPS (Net Promoter Score) ratings indicate that it’s
remarkably good at retaining its customers. Research recently reported that
Apple’s operating system, iOS, had loyalty rates of around 89%.
Also fuelling Apple’s commanding customer retention scores is its stellar
technical support. Whenever you buy an Apple product, you have the option to
schedule in a tailored, one-to-one session with a specialist – exploring your new
device’s best features, and fine-tuning it to your tastes. 
Apple’s commitment to understanding the individual is no accident. It’s a
carefully plotted out CRM strategy, and it’s paying stunning dividends.

Anticipating customer needs

“[The computer] took us three years to build. If we'd given customers what they
said they wanted, we'd have built a computer they'd have been happy with a
year after we spoke to them – not something they'd want now.”

It’s clear Apple’s understanding of its customers runs deep. Yet, paradoxically,
Jobs was famously opposed to market research. Rather, Apple’s intimacy with
its customers has traditionally stemmed from the company’s empathy with their
pain points and needs. 
It’s this, above all, that’s driven Apple’s desire to innovate – to expand and
evolve its offerings to meet not only its customers’ current requirements, but
those of their futures, too.
Because if it isn’t game-changing, Apple won’t do it. The iPhone, iPod, and
iPad were all ahead of their time, while iTunes was once the only legal online
catalogue of songs to feature music from all five major record labels. 
With Apple TV now producing original content and Apple Pay redefining how
we shop, Apple’s innovation is a hallmark of its desire to grow with the needs
of its users.

Stores focussing on customer experience

“How does somebody know what they want if they haven’t seen it?”

It’s a good question, and one that continues to define how Apple operates its
physical shops.
Apple’s retail departments and staff are built with the individual in
mind – to ensure its customers have an experience, rather than simply make a
purchase. Anyone who’s ever visited one of Apple’s stores will back this up,
too – they’re places of wonder, where you can explore the latest technology at
your own pace.
Apple’s use of CRM in-store is a testament to its long-term mentality. An
immediate sale is good, but an ongoing relationship with a customer is
more profitable. By foregoing conventional sales tactics, Apple’s shops create
value by encouraging browsers to love and appreciate the benefits of having an
iPhone, an iPad, or the latest Apple Watch.
And, by training its employees to understand (and not just sell to) those that
enter its stores, Apple cultivates a more engaged, loyal customer base
that prioritises the person, rather than the product.

Branding that speaks to a generation

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

Apple is… a cool company.

Whether you buy into its products or not, Apple’s pull is undeniable. Boasting
one of the most iconic and instantly recognisable brands in the world, it draws
huge queues at product launches, while thousands of user-generated videos
online are dedicated to ‘unboxing’ Apple devices.
But Apple’s brand is more than just a by-product of designing products
that look, feel, and work well. Its ecosystem of products – each of which
functions seamlessly with the rest – engenders loyalty with the brand, while
rewarding the customer for choosing Apple.
Better still, Apple’s branding has succeeded where plenty of other big
companies have failed – by appealing to millennials. Research
shows that Apple is the brand Generation Y feels most emotionally attached
to, and it’s not hard to see why. With simple, stripped-back product designs,
a commitment to sustainability, and a playful tone of voice, Apple (quite
literally) speaks to a whole generation.