Building Competitive Advantage through E-CRM Analytics and Data Integration

Abstract

Electronic Customer Relationship Management (e-CRM) Analytics is the process of analyzing and reporting online customer/visitor behavior patterns with the objective of acquiring and retaining customers through stronger customer relationships. To better understand the role of data integration in achieving the goals of e-CRM, the authors conducted a study by means of a survey. The results of this study propose that although online, offline and external data integration have their complexities, the value added is significant. This survey of CRM professionals is composed of two parts. The first part investigated the nature of the data integrated and the data architecture deployed. The second part analyzed the technological and organizational value added with respect to the e-CRM initiative. The findings suggest that organizations who integrate data from various customer touch-points enjoy a competitive advantage through significantly higher benefits, user satisfaction and return on their investment (ROI) than those who do not. Additional insights are also presented exploring the role of data integration in e-CRM projects at both business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) firms. For organizations implementing e-CRM, this study reveals that data integration is worth their time, money and efforts in creating a competitive advantage.