CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management and while this type of software is necessary in almost every industry, it can provide a unique set of effective tools when it comes to fashion. Brand loyalty is something that can make an apparel company stick for a very long time. Part of fostering a strong sense of brand loyalty amongst your customers has to do with the way that you keep them engaged. Product quality is always going to be the most important part of maintaining strong relationships with your customers but the ways that CRM can be interwoven with providing great clothing can truly drive success in your business.
CRM software puts the customer experience at the top and creates pathways for everything else to fall in line beneath that concept. The most obvious relationship between an apparel brand and its customers will be the clothing that they buy; however, all of the media that they see on television, in print, online, and beyond are also considered “touchpoints.” Keeping control of your touchpoints, which is everywhere that your apparel company connects with your customer base, will help you have a better understanding of your audience so you can give them what they want.
Data Collection and Analytics
There are three main solutions that CRM software provides apparel companies with. The first and most important of these is data collection and analytics. CRM software tools are designed to collect all of the data that they can on your customer base. The information that these tools keep track of include spending habits, purchase history, and plenty of other data. In a great CRM program, you will be able to specify what data is most important to you. The software presents that data to you for you to analyze.
Another way that CRM is beneficial in terms of analytics is that it can help you understand more about your customers by synthesizing the information it collects into reports. Having detailed information about what your customers are doing and the ways that they are interacting with your products will give you solid insight on how you can make those products better and make those connections stronger to help hit your targets as a business.
E-Commerce Integration
This is one of the most important parts of CRM software, especially because shopping online has become so much more prominent over the past few years. Some ERPs will have e-commerce solutions; however, the e-commerce tools that a CRM software offers are going to be focused on your customers in a way that a lot of other options may not be. By collecting and integrating data from e-commerce channels as well as retail channels, you will be able to look at the big picture when it comes to your brand.
CRM software can combine all of your retail data and help you understand more about your customers by providing you with a top-down view of what products or brands are popular, what specific customers and demographic groups are buying, and can help you look at where your customers are buying your clothing and if they’re coming back.
Data sources are great because data is one of the most valuable assets that you’ll have in your arsenal. Having the right software to keep all of that information together and present you with reports based on that information can help you streamline your processes and make the most effective decisions possible.
Loyalty Program Structures
Another common feature of CRM software is that it can help you set up a loyalty program. You want to keep track of your customers so you know if they are coming back and spending more money on your products, of course. Something that is equally important, especially in a world that is so inundated with different options, you want to reward your customers for that. Discounts, loyalty points, bonuses, and other tools to help incentivize your customers to return can all be put together using certain CRM software.
Creating a loyalty program is an incredible way to keep customers coming back to you but it also makes them spend more so that they can reap the rewards. This is a good idea to help make your customers happy and offer them something in return for shopping with you as opposed to not offering them anything. Those extras can go a long way towards making your customers feel valued.
Where Does CRM Fall Short?
CRM has a lot to offer and can do a lot to boost your business. The problem with CRM is that it is another type of apparel software tool that does just one thing. It is great to have a tool that does one thing and does it well but the problem lies in whether or not it can effectively integrate into the system that you are already using or if it will be compatible if you choose to change those systems in the future.
There is also the idea that specifically investing in a CRM will cost you more than investing in a software program that contains all of the features you need to make your business work for you.
