2011: The Year of Social Media CRM?
Posted by Aleesha Tully on Tue, Apr 12, 2011
To examine where CRM is going this year, we need to take a look back. A few decades ago, most business was conducted through social communication, before the time of technology there would be a handshake, a verbal agreement, and on with the day’s work or a pint of cold beer at the bar. Business settled? The topic turns to the baseball game.
With the onslaught of new technology’s social media, it seems that the handshake has become a mouse click and the face of a person you might never meet is facing you on an LCD/HD computer monitor. You can chat about the weather, you can deal with business and
the conversation finishes with comments about the baseball game; the client and the business are always communicating by some online source or other. Now multiply this by the thousands – that’s how many customers and clients you can reach out to via the social web. It allows us to connect to potential customers around
the world like no other medium before. This surely is social media CRM. The only thing missing is the cold beer.
The New CRM
So is 2011 the year of Social CRM? It certainly appears that way. When you get down to the basics, Social CRM has always been around but just in a different format and on a narrower scale; it was the technology and “media” that was missing. In the present, Social CRM has captured the attention of those who matter, the media. Social media giants such as Facebook continue to develop online, and more people communicate through these little outlets, little because in the overall scheme of things, Social CRM is just beginning to develop into a larger break out. In the last decade, social media has exploded, and because of the propensity of tuning in online and interacting with brands, it has developed into the opportune time for business and societal communication to develop.
A Deeper Relationship
Feeling comfortable with a person you are doing business with is important for the development of a trustworthy business relationship. What is more encouraging than having knowledge of the ‘other’ life the client or provider has besides business, it is giving a closer prospective to Customer Relations Management by understanding and being able to communicate more effectively with each other. Being able to interact with other customers and give feedback is a gift, as long as it is managed properly.
Manage your online social media effectively and your organisation will reap the benefits. Fail to keep up and your organisation will be left behind. 2011 is the year of social CRM so get on board!
Contact SiliconCloud today to arrange a FREE social media evaluation!