If you receive errors when attempting to view this white paper, please install the latest version of
Adobe Reader.
"Sage provides business software, services and support to small and medium sized businesses. Whilst our heritage
is in the small business market we also have the experience and expertise to meet the needs of specific industries
and larger organisations."
Source : Sage
Social CRM: Customer Relationship Management in the Age of the Socially-Empowered Customer
Customer relationship management (CRM) is also known as :
Customer Intelligence,
Customer Service ,
Consumer Relationship System,
Business Intelligence,
Enterprise Relationship Management ,
Employee Experience Management,
Customer Experience,
Consumer Relationship System,
Customer Experience Management,
Service System,
Relationship Management ,
Customer Experience Solutions,
Services Management,
Customer-Centricity,
Social CRM,
Traditional CRM
Contents
The Internet has changed our lives forever. It allows us to communicate in ways unimaginable only a few years ago.
It lets us contribute our voices to conversations taking place around the world.
It also makes it possible to discover an endless supply of information with just a few clicks. And while making
it easy for us to connect globally, it also empowers us to build close, meaningful relationships.
Through text, audio, and video, we as individuals are able to participate in conversations that inform us,
captivate us, and assist us at the moment we need it. And we turn to the Internet in every facet of our
lives ' for entertainment, encouragement, knowledge, and dvice. Advice on what to buy, where to buy it, and of
acourse who to buy it from.
A growing number of people are leveraging the Internet in every
aspect of their lives,
including whom they wish to do business with. And while cost is a major
factor in this decision,
Web-savvy customers are looking for more from vendors. These social
customers want companies to listen
to their cares and concerns, to use the social media channels they use,
and to actively participate with
them in transparent conversations. In fact, according to findings of
the recent 2008 Cone Business in Social Media Study,
60% of Americans use social media, with 59% of social media users
interacting with companies on social media sites.
Additionally, the study finds that 93% of social media users feel
companies should have a social media presence ' with 56% saying
they feel a stronger connection with companies that do. This seems to
reinforce findings from a recent study conducted by
Coleman Parkes Research that found 84% of companies headquartered in
North America feel they need to find new ways
to communicate with customers; with 0% feeling social media will add
real value to customer interactions.
With high speed Internet access available in and out of the office,
easy to use software-as-a-service applications, and multimedia-enabled mobile devices flooding the market
, technology is beginning to catch up to the needs of the social customer.
Content creation and distribution will become easier, sparking more opportunities to engage in conversations
going on throughout the Internet. This is important to keep in mind, as there are already 22.6 million U.S.
bloggers and 94.1 million U.S. blog readers ' according to Technorati's 2008 State of the Blogosphere report.
Subsequently, as the technology makes it easier for us to blog, create videos, and share all kinds of content,
the number of social customers on the Internet will grow tremendously. More importantly,
the power and influence they have will grow as well.
Adding a social media strategy to your CRM initiatives is critically important to doing business in the 21st century.
People like doing business with people they like, and love doing business with people they trust. But how do you get
people to like and trust you enough to do business with you in a Web 2.0 world? That's the dilemma many business people
find themselves in. They're great in "face to face" situations with customers and prospects. But that doesn't help them
connect with the growing number of social customers using the Internet to
discover products, services, and companies that can help them solve issues.
According to last year's Future of Small
Business report on the future of small business, customers will
increasingly find the information they need to make
purchasing decisions, rather than relying on what's pushed to them.
This aligns perfectly with the mindset of the social customer, who is
more likely to turn to Google for information than to their inbox.
That's why it's critically important to expand your customer
relationship management strategy to engagesocial customers.
This means understanding their process for initiating and building business relationships:
- Begins with searches for information. Most searches begin
with search engines like Google, Yahoo! and others. It also includes
recommendation sites like Epinions, and general information sites like
Wikipedia. In increasing numbers it also means tapping into trusted
sources in sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and other popular social
networks.
- Continues with clicks. Once results are
returned, the most promising ones are clicked on to see if they lead to
helpful, meaningful content.
- Analyzes the other side of the
clicks. Clicks lead to content, and that's where time is spent
determining if the click was worth it. Relevant content, delivered in
pleasing formats, makes the difference between a stranger moving on to
the next click, or a prospect inviting you into a conversation.
- Builds
conversations into collaborative experiences. Social customers expect
companies to go beyond the FAQ and About Us pages to engage in
meaningful exchanges with them. This may mean commenting on their blog
posts, following them on Twitter, or possibly listening to their
podcast ' and providing relevant feedback.
- Transforms
collaborative experiences into meaningful business relationships. By
going through these steps, a social customer has built a comfort level
that allows them to move into a more formal relationship. This could
mean a purchase online or a meeting offline for more complex
transactions.
Social CRM adds this missing dimension to the traditional,
operational areas of CRM. The focus is undoubtedly on people. It's
about joining ongoing conversations customers and prospects are already
engaged in while resisting the urge to try and control them. It's
understanding where the kind of people you want to do business with
hang out on the Internet, and what they do there. More importantly,
it's knowing social customers want to feel important and valuable to
the businesses they frequent. Not just for the dollars they spend, but
for all they bring to the relationship. They want businesses to show
real interest in them.
Data-driven vs. Content-driven
Companies began investing in CRM applications in the '90s mainly to
store contact data. Before contact management software was available,
companies had to store their valuable customer information in
Rolodexes, spreadsheets. and even filing cabinets. It was important to
have a central location to store the data that was also easily
accessible to communicate effectively with contacts. And with multiple
people "touching" the customer for various reasons, it quickly became
important to be able to track activities, appointments, potential
deals, notes, and other information. Consequently, traditional CRM grew
out of this need to store, track, and report
on critical information about customers and prospects.
Social CRM is growing out of a completely different need ' the need
to attract the attention of those using the Internet to find answers to
business challenges they are trying to overcome. And nothing captivates
the attention of searchers like relevant, compelling content. Having
the right content, and enough of it, will help connect you with those
needing your product or service. Creating content in formats that make
it easy for your target audience to consume it increases the
probability that you will move them to action ' starting a conversation
with you. Whether it be a blog post, podcast, YouTube video, or
Webinar,
creating attractive content is a key pillar of social CRM strategy.
Traditional CRM
Processcentric vs. Conversation-centric
Traditional customer relationship management is heavily focused on implementing and automating processes.
Companies looking to implement processes like lead and activity management would turn to CRM. Management would turn
to CRM to standardize on sales processes to increase the accuracy of sales forecasts. And customer service requests
could be tracked, routed, escalated, and resolved in a uniform fashion to ensure proper handling. Traditional CRM
helped make it possible to ensure the proper activities and tasks would be performed by the appropriate people, in the
correct sequences.
While there are processes involved in building a successful social
CRM strategy, conversations are at the heart of it. Having meaningful
conversations with those searching for the help you can provide is the
turning point in transforming clicks into customers. The processes
involved are aimed at making it easy for people to find us (through our
content) and invite us into a conversation ' on their terms. This may
take the form of a comment left on a
blog post, following your company on Twitter, or possibly embedding
your PowerPoint presentation on their Web page. There are numerous ways
to participate in meaningful conversations with people looking for help
in solving challenges. Formalizing a strategy to increase the
likelihood of engaging in these conversations is a tenant of social CRM.
Operationallyfocused vs. People/Community-focused
As mentioned above, managing customer information is a major concern
to businesses of all sizes. It plays a key role in the ability of
companies to respond to customer requests, manage resources needed to
close deals efficiently, and provide management with reports to keep
track of sales performance. This
helps executives achieve operational effectiveness, and is particularly
important for companies expanding their sales and marketing operations,
needing to implement new processes to manage growth. Companies have
typically turned to CRM to improve communication between sales and
marketing operations, as well as to improve data-access to positively
impact
decision making.
Whereas traditional CRM activity focused heavily on operational
effectiveness and its impact ' both internally and on the customer '
social CRM is all about people and community. It's about how your
company intends to participate in the ongoing conversations taking
place in the industry. How you embrace non-traditional influential
people like popular industry bloggers, and social sites on the Web
frequented by your audience. And fully understanding the importance of
contributing to discussions, in a transparent manner, will help you
build the kind of reputation needed to become a valued member of the
online communities important to your business.
PPT (People, Process, & Technology) vs. AAA (Automation, Analysis, & Audacity)
There have been many definitions for customer relationship
management over the years. In fact, hundreds of thousands of
definitions can be found on the Internet. Many people view it as
technology driven. Others view it as a way to standardize important
sales and marketing functions and processes. And customers, along with
the people who serve them, have always been central to CRM success. So
it's easy to see why a good number of traditional definitions for
CRM center around three words ' people, process, and technology.
While any definition containing the importance of people, process,
and technology captures the spirit of CRM, many were constructed before
the
Web became central to our lives. The philosophy behind social CRM is
built upon a Web-powered foundation, and its impact on how we relate to
each other. And with content being central to bringing people together,
three other words become important to the equation ' Automation,
Analysis, and Audacity.
Social CRM
Automation is not new, especially when the word can be found in two of the main tenants of traditional CRM
-- sales force automation and marketing automation. But finding ways to automate the content creation/distribution
process are just as critical in a Web 2.0 world. Quality content drives interest and provides people with a reason
to initiate conversations with you. As a result, anything that makes it easy for you to produce good content on a
regular basis will save precious time while increasing your ability to connect with the right people at the right time.
Creating the infrastructure and culture to encourage your customers and partners to create content on your behalf is
also a great way to automate both content creation and distribution. Therefore, finding creative ways to push out
relevant content on a consistent basis will increase the impact it will have, and strengthen your opportunities for
social CRM success.
Operating in the current environment allows us to try many different
tools and strategies
without requiring a big financial investment. This makes it easy for us
to experiment with things like search engine marketing, Web site
optimization, social networking, and other methods to drive targeted
traffic to our sites. While all good activities, this experimentation
needs to lead to a better understanding of what kind of activities and
content help us create meaningful conversations and, ultimately, good
business relationships. So it's important to understand what subjects
we blog about generate comments and spark opportunities to engage in
conversations. Or, use services like Feedburner and Tweetburner to
measure how many people are reading our blogs and tweets. Additionally,
analyzing how people are consuming our content can lead to great
insight. Sending the same message in a tweet may be more effective than
in e-mail, but maybe less impactful than a Facebook page. Analyzing
this kind of information allows us to concentrate our content
generation efforts on topics and formats
that increase our opportunities to reach the proper audiences.
Automation and analysis lay the groundwork for introducing audacity
into the mix --bringing creativity and originality to the process. By
identifying routine tasks and activities and putting processes in place
to handle them, you give yourself a chance to really think about your
customers and what they need from you. Being able to quickly analyze
how effective your content is in helping build conversations
with prospects allows you to spend time understanding how you can best
reach them. So automation and analysis, when implemented effectively,
can free up time for creative thoughts and actions. It brings
personality into the process of building relationships. Furthermore, it
fosters "thinking outside of the box" to come up with captivating ways
to grab their attention and make them reach out to you. And with more
and more content being added to the Internet, it is critical to find
unique ways to grab and keep the attention of those with whom we want
to do
business at the point when they're ready to buy. So audacity, together
with automation and analysis, can assist us in "winning friends and
influencing people" in a socially-enabled economy.
Incorporating social tools and tactics can positively impact CRM
success in many ways. Creating and distributing compelling content
should attract the attention of those seeking the very products,
services, and expertise you specialize in. This should provide more
opportunities to engage prospects who've turned to the Internet to kick
off their buying process. In order to increase your odds for success,
below are a few items to consider as you begin building your social CRM
strategy.
Social CRM is not a Replacement for Traditional CRM
It's easy to get lost in the excitement that social media, social
networks, and other Web 2.0 phenomena have generated. Social CRM,
however, is not a replacement for traditional customer relationship
management. Social CRM adds a new dimension and focus that works best
on top of a solid foundation. This includes an easily accessible
centralized customer database, keeping track of events and coordinating
activities, and managing important sales and marketing processes. With
the internal operational aspects being addressed by traditional CRM
tools and strategies, the social layer aimed at engaging the wider
Internet-based community can smoothly transition external conversations
inward, continuing on the path towards a meaningful business
relationship.
Social CRM Requires a Different Mindset
As stated above, many CRM tactics, strategies, and opinions were
developed well before Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter entered the
consciousness of the business world. Social tenants like participation
and transparency were
not in the business vocabulary ' neither were terms like blogging,
podcasting, and mashups. That's why it will require a change to the way
many businesses think about communicating with customers and prospects.
They will have to feel comfortable with being a participant in
conversations with social customers, and be ready to let them decide
where the conversation goes. It also means opening up conversations on
your Web sites and blogs that might not always be positive. But those
companies who are willing to join in and be a part of the community,
without trying to hijack it, will gain a great deal of respect - more
respect than companies who are perceived as ignoring them. So
attempting to use social media tools without adopting these
social tenants may result in being worse off than not using these tools
at all.
Look to Your Best Customers to Help Out
With each passing day there are more options to choose from in
social media and networks. So it's critically important not to get too
bogged down spending valuable time in the wrong areas. One way to focus
your efforts would be to survey your best customers to see which
networks they are currently participating in. If you find a significant
number of them are active on Twitter, it makes sense to see how they
are using it so you can build a presence there. Find out which bloggers
they follow to see what topics they're commenting on. You may even want
to build direct relationships with influential bloggers by providing
them access to information and people typically reserved for more
traditional media outlets.
It's important to tap into the valuable information your best
customers can provide you. Not only can they help you understand how
they're currently using social tools, but what they're using those
tools for. This should provide you with opportunity to create a social
CRM strategy that will deepen your relationships with them.
Just as important, understanding their use of social media may help
your businereach new customers like them. Create fields in your CRM
system to track this kind of information just as you track any other
piece of customer information. If a contact has a blog, subscribe to
it, read it,, and leave comments on it. And if your best customers
spend a good amount of time on Facebook, find out why, and then build
the appropriate presence there. These steps can go a long way in
helping you find the right areas on which to concentrate your efforts.
Give it Time to Work
Like most things in business, building and implementing a successful
social CRM strategy will take time and effort. It takes time to
understand the power of social media and the social sites people
frequent. It also takes time to understand the tools and techniques
available so you can decide which ones are most suitable for you and
the people you wish to engage. It also takes time to understand the
rules of the social Web and gain the respect of the online community,
which can be a big hurdle for businesses. Many businesses attempt to
use Web 2.0 tools to deliver Web 1.0 marketing messages. Sending
one-way messaging to people looking for invitations to participate in
conversations will not work, and can be the quickest way to severely
damage your
reputation.
Always keep in mind that being viewed as a contributor and
participant is key to being a good social citizen. This is the quickest
way to earn the respect of the community, and realize the opportunity
to share your thoughts, experiences, and knowledge. And finally, it is
the best way to turn clicks into conversations, and conversations into
meaningful, long-lasting business relationships.
Businesses of all sizes are recognizing that their customers have
social needs that go way beyond price. These social needs are
critically important in building long lasting, meaningful relationships.
In actuality this has always been the case, but the Internet has
empowered the rise of these social customers. And customer relationship
management strategies employed by organizations need to address the way
social
customers enter into business relationships. Integrating social media
tools and strategies into your traditional CRM efforts can increase
your efforts in building meaningful relationships with those looking
for solutions to the challenges they face. The key is to first
understand how these prospective customers use the Internet in terms of
information gathering, communicating, engaging in conversations, and
finally in determining who they choose to do business with. A firm
understanding of these key areas will increase the likelihood of a
successful marriage between traditional CRM efforts and your
relationship with the social customer.
Below is a list of a few helpful website and blogs that focus on areas related to social CRM.
My blog dedicated to integrating social media, social strategy, and
Web 2.0 tools into customer relationship management practices at the
SMB level.
Traditional CRM products such as Sage SalesLogix have the capability to incorporate social media and
Web 2.0 tools. Visit www.sagecrmsolutions.com
to learn more about Sage SalesLogix, a leading CRM solution for over 10
years with more than 8,500 installations and 300,000 users.
The author of CRM at the Speed of Light and influential industry
leader, Paul covers a tremendous amount of ground in all things related
to CRM, social media and the impact on relationships with customers.
Paul will also be starting a CRM blog for ZDNet that will cover these
topics as well.
Another of the most influential voices in the industry, Denis
Pombriant heads up Beagle Research. Through his blog and other writing
outlets, Denis covers CRM from every angle, including the growing
impact the latest technologies are having on how companies should
relate to those they hope to do business with.
Chris Carfi has been advocating on behalf of the social customer for
years. His blog gives an in depth view of how to use technology to
engage customers in the age of blogs, Twitter, Facebook and whatever
comes next.
Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba have a huge, loyal following based on
their singular focus on customers, and how companies should treat them.
The site is loaded with great content that is useful,
relevant and overflowing ' exactly what you need to understand social
customers.
Editor Chris Bucholtz and team are on top of everything going on in
the CRM industry, including the impact social media is having in the
space. Their content comes in many forms including webinars featuring
industry leader. InsideCRM is definitely key resource for understanding
where things are going.
CRM magazine has been (and continues to be) the voice of the
industry for years. Led by people like managing editor Josh Weinberger
and senior editor Marshall Lager, CRM magazine and its digital
properties are at the forefront of covering the impact social media is
having on the industry.
Another of the venerable voices in the industry, 1to1 stays on top
of how companies are using tools and strategies to embrace customers.
Led by Editor-in-chief Ginger Conlon, 1to1 has a variety of great
content that addresses social media, how companies are currently using
it, and how they'll need to use it in the future.
This blog comes from Internet marketing service provider HubSpot.
The blog focuses on social media marketing strategies companies can use
to engage customers that are savvy in the use of social media. HubSpot
shares some of the tips and tricks they've developed to build
relationships with hundreds of thousands of customers through their
content.
There has been much written about the role social media has played
in the presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama. Barack 2.0 tracks
how the campaign has integrated social media into their overall
campaign strategy. The site focuses on lessons businesses can learn
from the campaign's use of social media, and how they can put these
lessons to work to reach more customers.
Brent Leary is a CRM industry analyst, advisor, speaker and award
winning blogger. He is a CRM industry analyst, speaker, co-founder and
Partner of CRM Essentials LLC, an Atlanta based CRM advisory firm
covering Web 2.0 tools and strategies for improving business
relationships. His client list includes IBM, Intuit, Cisco, Research In
Motion and the state of Georgia's Depart of Economic Development.
Recognized by InsideCRM as one of 2007's 25 most influential industry
leaders, Leary also received CRM Magazine's Most Influential Leader
Award in 2004. He serves on the national board of the CRM Association,
and as a subject matter expert for the Small Business Technology Task
Force. He's been quoted in several national business publications,
including the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek and Entrepreneur magazine.
Leary writes regular online columns for Inc. and Black Enterprise
magazines. He hosts and produces the popular Technology For Business
$ake radio program. Leary's blog can be found at http://www.twitter.com/BrentLeary. You can follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/BrentLeary. You can follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/BrentLeary. He can also be reached via email at bleary@crm-essentials.com.