Many businesses exist solely within Amazon. These are third party sellers, who may or may not utilize Amazon for fulfillment and customer service. The customers for these businesses only come from Amazon, and their products are only sold on Amazon. For these types of businesses, how do you utilize a CRM, or even attempt to connect with customers?
At its most basic level, the Amazon messaging system serves as a CRM for tracking email communications with customers. You can also view orders from particular customers, as well as any coupons applied or promotions redeemed. This clearly has limitations, but with some efforts it is possible to utilize more methods to manage relationships with customers. This will also help you to stand out as a seller and brand on Amazon. Many customers think of the third party sellers as Amazon themselves, so differentiating yourself is very important as a new and/or growing brand.
To enhance communications with customers, it is recommended to use product inserts. This can be a small postcard with your customer service contact information and a thank you message. This is the first step to building a customer relationship outside of Amazon, even if you only sell your products on the Amazon platform.
Furthermore, software such as Feedback Five or Feedback Genius allows you to send automated follow-up emails to customers. This is very important for soliciting positive feedback on your product listings, as well as enhancing customer service. However, perhaps a more important feature of this type of software is the ability to send promotions and messages to customers who have purchased from you multiple times. Amazon does not compile lists of repeat customers. Instead, you have to find them by viewing individual orders or running complicated reports. Sending personalized messages and promotions to your repeat buyers is an ideal way to facilitate the growth of customer relationships.
Finally, it is a great idea to use reports to track repeat customers, customers who have contacted you for customer service reasons, and customers who have left negative reviews and/or seller feedback. This is an often neglected way to create a basic CRM for your Amazon business.