Facebook: The Greatest CRM Platform in the World?
Ok, so it’s not exactly a fully fledged CRM system (yet) but when you compare the information you have on a client or lead in Salesforce with the information that Facebook has on the same person the difference and quality of information is mind-boggling. Not only that but Facebook permeates across the online world like […]
Where Does Email Fit Within Social CRM?
Before you say anything let me first put some context around why I’m asking this question. On Friday I’m going to be speaking at the Social Email Marketing conference in San Francisco. Almost all of the sessions are going to be focused on email, and then…there’s me. The nice fellow whose going to be talking […]
An Algorithmic Versus a Heuristic Business Approach (to Customer Engagement)
I’ve been reading Dan Pink’s book, “Drive,” and while I’m only 50 or so pages in, I can say that so far it’s a pretty interesting read. One particular area of the book mentions the difference between algorithmic vs heuristic ways of getting things done. Dan breaks down the difference between algorithmic and heuristic ways […]
Customer and Company Value, You Must Define Both
In my presentations I oftentimes reference a quote from Gartner which says the following: “By 2010 more than half of companies that have established an online community will fail to manage it as an agent of change, ultimately eroding customer value. Rushing into social computing initiatives without clearly defined benefits for both the company and […]
Will CRM Sytems and Listening Tools Become One and the Same?
Call me crazy (as many of you have), but I don’t see the separation of “listening tools” and “CRM systems” lasting too much longer. We have actually seen a few acquisitions over the past few months such as Jive acquiring Filtrbox, Lithium acquiring Scout Labs, Meltwater acquiring Buzzgain, Attensity acquiring Biz 360, and several others. […]
An Open Letter to CRM and Social Media People
Over the past few months (and perhaps more so over the past few weeks) I’ve noticed a growing tension between the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and the social media folks. In some instances this has led to direct name calling in public mediums – which is rather unfortunate. The advent or evolution of CRM into […]
Business Problems that Social CRM Helps Organizations Solve
(White to move and Mate in 2, can you figure out the answer?) There’s been a lot of talk about what SCRM is (social customer relationship management) and how it should be defined. There has also been a lot of conversation around Social CRM from a technology standpoint in terms of vendor offerings. I’ll admit […]
How Do You Define Engagement?
I’m at the Alterian “Engaging Times” conference in Chicago which is full of interesting conversations and people. One of the things that struck me at the conference is that nobody defined or explained what “engagement” means. If someone “likes” your facebook page is that engagement? What if they leave a comment on your blog? What […]
How I Understand Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Keep in mind when reading this that my background IS NOT in Customer Relationship Management (CRM), however as someone who is very involved with Social Customer Relationship Management (SCRM) it’s crucial to understand traditional CRM. My background has always been in social and in marketing. First let’s start off with the obligatory wikipedia definition: C […]
One Hot Mess: Social CRM and E2.0
There’s been a pretty far-ranging discussion on the blogs as of late around Social CRM. Don’t ask me to define “social CRM” – that in and of itself is a blog argument that’s been raging. What you need to know is this: Traditional CRM is about “managing customers”; Social CRM seeks to move the “management” […]
Would You Pay More for Excellent Customer Service?
A key tenant in Social CRM has always been around providing users with a better experience. In addition to delivering a great product one of the best ways to provide a better experience is through excellent service (yes there are other things). Here’s a simple personal example. In my neighborhood there are two large grocery […]
How Much of a Relationship Do Your Customers Actually Want?
On the Harvard Business Review, Matt Dixon and Lara Ponomareff wrote a piece that caught my eye, Why Your Customers Don’t Want to Talk to You. Consumers increasingly prefer self-service, and the authors speculate: Maybe customers are shifting toward self service because they don’t want a relationship with companies. While this secular trend could be […]
How CRM and Social Media Evolved to Social CRM
I just arrived at the CRM Evolution conference and last night I attended a pre-show meetup where I had a great conversation with Brian Vellmure. Among one of the interesting things we talked about is how he and I (and others) got involved with Social CRM. We are both very involved with and interested in […]
Rapportive Shows Social CRM Space Is Heating Up
Increasingly, we are seeing trends that point out to Social CRM becoming the next hot thing in the application world. Unlike the traditional CRM apps, social CRM mines the data in your social network to offer more relevant information regarding your contact or potential customer. Even though the traditional CRM vendors are slowly waking up […]
New Oldspice Campaign: Social Media or Social CRM?
Hello ladies! (this is only funny if you have seen the Oldspice commercials, otherwise this is a bit awkward for all of us…) Over the past few weeks you may have seen that the Oldspice man has been responding to comments on youtube, facebook, and twitter by creating individual personalized messages for people essentially creating […]
