When operating an Ecommerce website, there are many things an entrepreneur will need to have in place, and one of the most important pieces of equipment is a CRM. This CRM is not a physical piece of equipment but it is by far the most important tool an online entrepreneur can have. There has been a dramatic spike in the types of free online ecommerce CRM software being made available, and as an online entrepreneur you may be tempted to use these free online ecommerce CRM software packages, but that may not be in the best interest of your online business.

Free vs Paid Ecommerce CRM Software

A CRM (customer/client relationship management) program gives you the ability to effectively manage the needs of all your customers. Since the software is designed to keep everything organized, once it has been properly configured, the odds of having a customer fall through the cracks is greatly reduced.

While the CRM is great at keeping track of customer needs, that is just one dimension. The CRM is also capable of monitoring the behavior of customers covertly and giving you access to this important data so you can identify trends and exploit them.

Free ecommerce CRMs are usually offered as a “bare bones” solution that allows you to track customers and prepare reports. But it typically does not give you the ability to incorporate email marketing, customer support or even accounting, all features that a growing online business requires. Since the CRM is free, there is no warranty on the quality or security of the software. So one day you could wake up and not have a CRM – which could spell disaster for your online business!

You want a CRM that is going to be scalable so it can grow as your online business grows. With the paid version of CRMs, you will get the full suite of CRM tools that are needed when trying to gain market share. Regardless of what niche you are in, there is a vast array of CRM solutions available both free and paid.

You should begin reviewing the paid versions as soon as possible. If you don’t yet have a CRM, you could be losing market share with each passing day. It would be in your best interest to be proactive and start reviewing the various CRMs now before you lose any more market share.