Social CRM Information Systems

Customers are the backbone of any successful organization. They are the ones that purchase the products and services and help build a company from grass roots to multinational levels. The most successful organizations stick to their roots and give their customers what they want. They pay attention to their needs and wants and address those as best they can.

As technology has evolved, it has become much easier to effectively build relationships with customers and maintain long term business relationship, especially with the use of CRM technology.

What are CRM’s?

CRM’s or customer relationship management is an information system that uses specific tools and processes to manage customer interactions. This can be accomplished with through personal interaction or via a specific platform such as a website.

CRM’s utilize strategies and methodology from customer service, sales, and marketing to ensure their customers are satisfied. They use technologies to advocate solutions and build loyalty over time.

Social CRM’s

Social CRM’s build on existing CRM technology and new social media platforms and have created an improved process for engaging customers. Social customer relationship management systems have enabled companies to expand their ability to reach their customers. There are now many different platforms that companies can use to interact with their customers.

Social CRM’s build on traditional CRM metrics and allow companies to:

However, just like with any other new technology, companies seeking to upgrade to a social CRM must ensure their companies has the capabilities to manage it effectively.

New Insights of Social CRM’s

Social CRM’s have changed the way companies do business. Social CRM’s have taken the unknowns out of account management. Previous to these new CRM’s, calls and emails would go

unanswered and assumed to be a sign of an uninterested buyer.

However, social CRM’s allow companies to view a customer’s level of engagement on a much deeper level. Social CRM’s allow reps to see if emails were opened, how often their website or social media site was visited, and if information has been downloaded or interacted with.

This depth of account analysis has historically been performed by top sales reps in organizations. Social CRM’s now all for all individual working with clients to increase their understanding of accounts, providing them with the opportunity to improve their sales results.

What are CRM’s used for?

Both traditional and social CRM’s are used for many different functions within an organization. Naturally, how they are used will vary based on the organization, the customers, and projects. In general, CRM’s are used for the following:

How Social CRM’s differ from their traditional models

Social CRM adds a new dimension to the traditional use of customer relationship management. The focus has shifted from technology to emphasizing meaningful collaboration with individuals.

Traditional CRM’s are based specifically on the sales process, attempting to qualify leads through and close deals. While traditional CRM’s are effective at measuring process, they are ineffective at measuring engagement.

Traditional CRM’s are focused on process, operation, and are data driven, where as social CRM’s are people focused and are concerned about buyer’s content and conversations as a means of engagement. Social CRM’s are based more on web analytics and social media interaction. Social CRM’s build on the process support offered by traditional CRM’s and add conversational tools, and monitoring and interconnecting tools.