If you’re ‘in the biz’ (the Internet Marketing biz, that is), you’re probably used to a flurry of acronyms buzzing around the digital space like CSS, PHP, .NET, IM, CPA, CPM, ISP, SQL, CRM and countless others. All are intended to simplify in some way – whether it’s simplifying the user experience with an innovative new programming language, simplifying speech with phrases like ‘c u l8r’ or simplifying communications by targeting key messages to a specific audience, simple is the key word here. And yet most marketers make eCRM initiatives much more complicated than they need to be, and hence, lose valuable behavior driving benefits in the process.

Your ‘Internet Marketing for Dummies’ book may refer to CRM as Customer Relationship Marketing or Customer Relationship Management.

Po-tay-toe. Pa-tah-toe.

Either way, it’s about the customer.

No matter what the product or service, eCRM initiatives must be developed with the customer in mind. If you boil it down to that one principle, you can’t go wrong. Assuming you’ve got a sophisticated database in place, a sound value proposition, and a qualified list of targets, that is. OK, so maybe it’s a little complex. But if done right, it can be the most effective tool for reaching, retaining – and cultivating – a brand loyal, brand motivated audience in a highly personalized way.

In essence, you are simply having a one-on-one conversation with your customer just as you would with a friend. You wouldn’t talk at or try to sell your friends, would you? No, you’d simply (yes, again, simply) know them well enough to understand their needs, and then make meaningful – and personal – suggestions. The word ‘Duh’ should leap to mind. Or think Keanu Reeves’ “Whoa” in The Matrix. Oh yeah, this is powerful stuff. But in many ways, it’s also a no-brainer.

See, I keep telling you it’s simple.

So, where do you begin?

In this case, past is prelude. As in, harnessing the initiatives have you done in the past to help bolster the success of an eCRM program.

What information have you been able to gather about your audience to date? If you want to implement a strong program, you need to have more information than just name and e-mail address. Um, does the term ‘spam’ mean anything to you?!

But these customer ‘fun facts’ depend greatly on the type of product or service you are offering. If you sell home goods, for example, do members of your audience have a proclivity toward certain products? If so, which ones? Are they seasonal buyers? Do they buy full suites of products for large scale remodeling projects or just ad hoc items?

On the other hand, if you’re in the healthcare sector trying to reach physicians, what types of patients do they see? What are their prescribing habits? Even factors like how they prefer to receive communications are important. While the focus of this post is on e-communications, CRM as a whole extends to any vehicle through which you can directly – and memorably – reach your end user, including honoring any communication preferences they may have. The halo benefits of a positive brand association can be garnered from something as simple as reaching someone via snail mail – or even text (a rapidly growing movement) – if that is their preferred medium.

Simple, right? There’s that pesky word again.

But it can be. Really.

Follow these three simple rules when crafting your eCRM program:

(I’m trying to really drive this concept home via ad nauseum references to the word ‘simple.’ Please indulge me.).

Know Your Customer – This is pretty self-explanatory, but for the cheap seats, have a deep understanding of your customers’ wants and needs, behavior patterns, and communication preferences. Do not even attempt an eCRM program if you don’t have these basic details. Instead, take a step back and put initiatives into place that can help you gather these facts. Perhaps offer an incentive that requires users to answer a few… err… simple questions.

Data is King – When it comes to eCRM, data is King, Queen, and the whole royal court. Not only do you need the initial data detailed above at the onset, but you need to continue to collect data through a series of ‘push/pull’ communications with end users. Otherwise, your e-mails have no actionable purpose. (See ‘spam’ reference above.) Be sure to continue the conversation by gathering additional data points that will help further profile your users so that you can tailor key messages that will resonate with them specifically in driving your desired behavior. As you might have guessed, you’ll also need a strong call to action.

My Users Opted In and All I Got Was This Lousy Database – So, you’ve gathered some important details about your audience. And they’ve given you permission to communicate with them. Great. Now you’ve got to house the information somewhere. If you’re thinking database, give yourself a hearty pat on the back. Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner. You need to develop a solid infrastructure for collecting, segmenting and storing user information across multiple – and possibly overlapping – data points.

Step #3 is the crux of the program, and where most eCRM campaigns fail. In this particular case, ‘if you build it, they will come’ most definitely holds true. (Kevin Costner would be proud.) If you’ve built a database that can manage all of the various data points across your universe of users, and offers the ability to query by specific variable, you can send pertinent content that is only applicable to individual users; and hence, offers a greater propensity for achieving a buying conclusion by reaching users who are pre-disposed to your message or offer.

If there’s going to be a blizzard in Buffalo, you should be sending an e-mail about your state-of-the-art snow blower to users in that geographical region. Or if you’re going to be launching a new asthma treatment, you’ll want to extract all of the specialists like Pulmonologists and Otolaryngologists from your database so you don’t hit your OB/GYN docs or Podiatrists with an irrelevant message. (I’m being a tad hyperbolic, but you get the idea.)

And presto, voila, kazaam, a la peanut butter sandwiches [insert your magic word of choice here], you have the power to turn e-mail into “me-mail!” But you don’t have to be a magician to implement a successful eCRM program that will yield results and maximize the lifetime value of your customer. You just have to send communications that are specific to the ‘me’s’ in each member of your audience. And hey, we all know that people care most about themselves and what directly applies to them. So, you’re merely delivering on that. (I thought you’d all appreciate that I refrained from further flagrant use of ‘simply’ there. You’re welcome.)

In a nutshell, find out what your customers want, remember it (aided by super-human technological devices, of course) and give it to them.

Simply put (sorry, I couldn’t resist), give your customers what they want.

Ah, a truly groundbreaking concept.

Next up, the invention of the wheel.