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Web Analytics And CRM: Customer Intelligence Just Got Smarter
By Joe Purcell
Expert Author
Article Date: 2011-05-17
The dawn of Web 2.0 bid the need for Web Analytics 2.0. The previous analytics approach was elementary and insufficient to capture valuable decision-making information. Similarly, CRM has largely been characterized by nearly blind campaigns that produce little or no valuable data to make informed decisions. The integration of analytics and CRM answers all the unknown questions.
People's lives are becoming more and more integrated with the online world. That means customer intelligence just got smarter. Everything a customer does on a website can be tracked, from how long they stay on a page to what they click on. Imagine being able to have a customer relations employee assigned to everyone who walks into your store, tracking every aisle the customer walks down, what products they stop to look at, and being able to make suggestions custom to that person. That's what web analytics can do, and so much more.
Integrating web analytics and CRM systems allows for tracking not just what the customer does, but what lead them to make their decisions. It brings a deeper level of awareness on what effect marketing campaigns are having, what the return on investment is, and even how social media is impacting customer response. Perhaps one of the most overlooked qualities is the fact that this data is real time. That means marketing and sales decisions can be made on the spot, or even automated. More data and possibilities are available to CRM teams now than ever before.
After implementing web analytics comes the task of being able to makes sense of the data. That's where trained CI professionals are needed. Adam Greco of Sales Force gives a presentation on their own integration of Google Analaytics with their own CRM methods. There are many great examples of how better integrating CRM with Web Analytics can boost ROI, such as Japan's Sofmap Company whose profits increased 300%. The possibilities are endless of what web analytics can do for your CRM.
About the Author:
Joe Purcell is a technology virtuoso, cyberspace frontiersman, and connoisseur of Linux, Mac, and Windows alike.
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