Enable, Empower, Engage: Key to Social CRM Success

In my first post of the year published on January 2nd, 2010 titled 2010: Year of Social CRM, I highlighted What is Social CRM, Why it is important and Why NOW is the time to invest in Social CRM. A lot has happened since then. Industry buzz around Social CRM has picked up considerably and a lot more CIOs and CMOs are considering investment in Social Media tools and technology to harness the potential of Social Media for their business. But what are the key elements of a successful Social CRM strategy that one must consider before embarking upon a Social CRM Program?

They are Enable, Empower, and Engage – what I call 3Es and they play a very critical role in Social CRM success. Let me elaborate on the 3Es.

1) Enable:

Enable refers to enabling free access to Social Media tools and technology among all the employees (not just select few) and allowing employees to use Social Media freely within well defined Social Media usage guidelines. (for more, refer to my earlier post titled Should Companies restrict Employees’ Social Media use?

2) Empower:

Mere enabling is not enough. You must empower your employees, especially those in customer facing roles to engage customers and prospects on Social media channels. And employees should feed “empowered” to do so. For more on employee empowerment, see these excellent articles titled Empowered and Empowered Customers Need Empowered Employees Need Empowered IT.

3) Engage:

Lastly but not the least, Enabling and Empowering is of no use if your employees don’t engage customers and prospects on Social Media channels, as engaging customers via Social Media for building trust and loyalty towards the brand will determine winning brands in Social Age (for more, refer to my earlier post titled How Customer Engagement will determine winning brands in Social Era).

It is critical for organizations to Enable and Empower their employees and Engage their customers and prospects for success in Social CRM.

What do you think? Do you agree that 3Es are key to Social CRM success? Please do share your thoughts: