Thank you to my friend Jacob Morgan for this guest post.
Social CRM is a very interesting topic but since the “space” is still relatively undefined, it can be somewhat of a challenge to address. The goal of this post is to keep things simple and high level so please keep that in mind and hopefully we can dive into more in depth in the future.
Let’s put aside terminology, jargon, and abbreviations for a moment and focus on some facts to help us understand exactly what’s going on:
- The fastest growing sector for internet use is communities (+5.4% in a year) (Nielsen “Global Faces on Networked Places”)
- Member communities reach more internet users (66.8%) than email (65.1%) (Nielsen “Global Faces on Networked Places”)
- By 2010 over 60% of Fortune 1000 companies will have some form of online community deployed for CRM purposes (Gartner Group – “Business Impact of Social Computing on CRM)
- “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 the customer will be the biggest cause of failure.” (Gartner Group)
- Trust and transparency are as important to company reputation as the quality of products and services. (Edelman Trust Barometer 2010)
There are plenty of other statistics and pieces of information out there but the key point that needs to be made is that customers now control the business ecosystem. People are talking about you and to you in these communities and these means of communication have now overtaken email.
Let’s also remember that CRM has always been about three things: marketing, sales, and service/support. The new element we are dealing with now is conversations which, in addition to being its own element, also affects marketing, sales, and service/support (to keep things simple I’m using “conversations” to also justify ideation, feedback management, collaboration.) At the end of the day, customers have evolved and businesses need to evolve with them.
What about social media?
Social media has and always will be about channels and tools such as Twitter and Facebook. In the near future we won’t even see “social media teams” at all. They will all be a part of Social CRM teams or integrated into other business functions which in the case of Comcast is the Digital Care team. So now that we have a good idea of what social media is and what the landscape looks like, what about Social CRM?
There are long-winded and confusing definitions that have been used to describe what Social CRM is. Many of those definitions focus on technology and/or social media, which in my opinion are incorrect. I’m not going to offer a definition of Social CRM because quite frankly I think it’s been defined to death. What I will say that is that Social CRM is first and foremost a strategy that positions the social customer as the focal point of how an organization does business. This strategy can be supported by technology but technology always comes second to strategy.
Social CRM does not in any way replace what CRM is or does but it does add the new conversation/relationship based element which previously did not exist. If you want a more detailed explanation, read my Social CRM presentation on Slideshare.
What we are currently seeing in terms of companies jumping on the social media bandwagon is just the “tip of the iceberg.” Eventually companies are going to move into a deeper level of integration which includes processes, frameworks, crisis management plants, change management, and Social CRM strategies (which will be specific for each company). Companies will look at the communities they have built, the friends and networks they have amassed, the channels they engage in (along with the new data silos they created), and the conversations they are having; and then they will say, “how are we making the social customer the focal point of how we do business?”
That’s when Social CRM will become the answer.
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Jacob is the principal of Chess Media Group, a social business consultancy that is focused on creating Social CRM, Enterprise 2.0, and Social Media strategies for mid and enterprise size clients. Jacob also authors a popular social business blog. You can connect with Jacob on Twitter @JacobM.
