Before implementing its customer relationship management tool, flower and gift retailer FarEastFlora.com had many frustrated customers. They were unhappy because every time they made a delivery order, they had to repeat their addresses.

No customer information was electronically stored. "Everything was either in the mind or on a piece of paper that got lost in no time," says executive director Ryan Chioh.

Having done mail order sales since 1978, this small and medium-size business (SMB) got by with manual order taking and processing. Employees answered calls and wrote down mailing addresses. The company had no system to track repeat purchases, but instead relied on staff to recognize regular customers.

Getting to the point where they "were losing customers quite easily", the company decided to become more service-oriented by adopting a customer relationship management (CRM) tool, says Chioh.

Managing customer contacts
Live since Jan. 21, 2002, FarEastFlora.com's CRM tool allows quick searches on electronic customer records.

"We have seen customers express pleasant surprise when we pull their record" just from handphone numbers, says Chioh.

Customer data is first entered by members who sign up online or by staff who key it in for first-time patrons. After this, purchases are electronically logged.

"This allows us to know who (customers) are, what they ordered in the past and for whom and to which addresses," he adds.

Leveraging on this historical information, a reminder service has been set up to encourage customers to repeat their orders for anniversaries and birthdays.

The tool also connects with an Integrated Voice Response (IVR) system that automatically records and processes orders when operators are not available. Other built-in capabilities include real-time order tracking, complaint handling, delivery tracking as well as delivery confirmation via SMS or e-mail.

Currently mail orders make up the bulk of FarEastFlora.com's business. Although it has a physical "garden super-mart", walk-in sales is small. Another growing area is e-commerce, which now accounts for more than 25 percent of its business.

'There is no customer loyalty'