Misplaced confidence loses eCRM custom

Of the companies surveyed, 81 per cent feel they reply to online customer queries within 24hrs.

However, Keith Symondson, commercial director at Noetica, said: "The perception is that people think they respond to emails when in reality this is not the case. They're fooling themselves."

He said the slow uptake of eCRM was not due to vendor ignorance, but rather the lack of common consensus on the meaning of the term and benefits of the technology to a company.

Retailers were most pessimistic about the uptake of eCRM, with 40 per cent expecting web communication to account for only 10 per cent of customer queries within the next two years.

Duncan Chapplle, director of analyst relations at Brodeur World International, said there is good reason for businesses failing to use eCRM, especially in a market in which return on investment is paramount.

He said: "Retail doesn't take CRM seriously, as all they are doing is moving sales away from the stores to online."

The report was collated across the automotive, banking, insurance and retail sectors, as well as independent call centres, for CRM vendor Noetica.