Push Concepts – an Approach to Active Customer Oriented Strategies in E-commerce

As a supplementary strategy for Mass Customisation (MC) in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) we propose an active approach to E-Commerce, the so called Push Concepts, where the supplier assumes the control during interactions with the customers. In this article we firstly describe the nature, the concepts and technical implementations of Push Principles in a meta-framework. After a short description of the main characteristics of CRM and the additional opportunities that are offered by the use of concepts of MC, special attention is turned to Push Concepts on relationship level, as they are particularly relevant for CRM. Two examples for Push Concepts on relationship level are cited, to make particular strategic concepts clear and to point out the advantages of Push Concepts in MC and CRM. These advantages are summarised and classified in a final conclusion about the integration of Push Concepts and MC into CRM so as to improve efficiency and effectiveness in relationships with customers in Electronic Business.