There are changes underway across the worlds of social media marketing, social media applied inside business (what some people would call enterprise 2.0) and where these tools connect (or not) to the business processes in (Cloud based) CRM and ERP systems. Products like Salesforce are adding Chatter,
and Twitter connectivity. Enterprise 2.0 tools that started as wikis
or forums are adding micro-blogging along with more and more social
functionality. Content Management Systems are adding or acquiring a
social dimension. Marketing departments are struggling with, or
looking for tools to help with, brand reputation monitoring and
management. One significant segment of this change just got much
clearer with Altimeter Group‘s R “Ray” Wang and Jeremiah Owyang producing Social CRM: The New Rules of Relationship Management.
R told the Enterprise Irregulars
earlier this morning that this report is the culmination of 6 months of
research, collaboration, hours of white boarding, phone calls, and
skype calls in the early morning and on weekends working with an
ecosystem of 42 partners. The document identifies 18 use cases for
Social CRM, capturing the best practices of 100 customers. They are
providing this as open research free to all to use, and plan to build
on it over time. Supporting the report, there will be a series of 4
webinars, the first of which they plan for March 18th at 10:00 PT. Check out their blog for details.
The executive summary says:
“Social CRM does not replace existing CRM efforts – instead
it adds more value. In fact, Social CRM augments social networking to
serve as a new channel within existing end-to-end CRM processes and
investments. Social CRM enhances the relationship aspect of CRM and
builds on improving the relationships with more meaningful
interactions.”
The report highlights that old style CRM is organized
around the organization not the customer. With social media, the
customers have moved on and started talking amongst themselves.
Cluetrain tells us that “all markets are conversations”, and so Social
CRM is all about reconnecting organizations back to customers. The
report suggests you should avoid the hype and that:
“Social CRM programs must deliver real value, not buzz.”
This diagram highlights the entry points to business value:
Then each of the 18 use cases are explained, assessed in terms of
market demand and technical maturity, and then vendors to watch are
highlighted. I recommend you download and read it:
The report concludes with a straightforward six step plan, including
suggesting you act now, breathe social, encourage the right mindset
and find other pioneers to talk to. It lays out a good roadmap and
checklist of how to apply these social tools, backed up by real world
evidence.
(Cross-posted @ Business Two Zero )
I’ve long contended that CRM could be vastly improved if the “C” in CRM was actually the focus of the tools. While social media makes it easier to listen to customers there is no guarantee that the “C” in CRM will become more important. Caring about the “C” is not a matter of technology. It’s a matter of philosophy, strategy, commitment, discipline, and rewarding desired behaviors. Without these focal points, no technology will make the “C” anything more than a letter.