Google the term “social CRM” and you’ll get more than a million results – literally. Along with gamification and big data, social CRM has been the buzzword that just wouldn’t die, but for those who’ve been taking the long wait and see approach when it comes to integrating social into the grand CRM scheme of things, or for those who have siloed it out like other emerging channels that have come before, it’s official. Social CRM is no longer a trend or a differentiator. Social is just another channel where brands are expected to be and engage.
CRM analyst Paul Greenberg, in a recent five part series for Diginomica, gave 40 compelling reasons why we all need to accept that “social CRM as a term (not as a concept)” says Greenberg, has run its course. (These 40 points) “lead me to think that it’s time to drop the ‘S’ from SCRM and just call it CRM again. Social is mainstream, CRM is a successful market and despite some contrary beliefs, works.
“The applications are mature and varied, meeting many to most needs, the systems are effective, the philosophies, strategies and programs are viable, with some best practices to pave the way, when appropriate. The professionals are there to do the jobs, even as the jobs morph. And human beings, with all their ingenuity, are able to meet the challenges that are posed as things rapidly change and as information becomes quickly available. So, don’t worry. It’s okay to drop that S. It really is.”
Analyst Brian Vellmure echoes this sentiment in his recent post, Social CRM is Dead. “Social is both a subset of digital, and CRM (and HR, and Sales, and Marketing, and Customer Service, and, and, and, and…). From an organizational perspective, social is an enabler of core business processes, not a standalone with its own benefits.”
What if Social CRM Was a Trend You Were Still Watching?…
So what if Social CRM was a trend your brand was still watching or haven’t yet fully integrated? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. To quote some unconventional advice provided to Bill Murray in the now-classic movie, What About Bob?, “set small reasonable goals for your yourself at a time, one tiny step at a time – baby steps – baby steps through the office, baby steps out the door… it works!”
Brands rising to the occasion when it comes to responsive social customer care are seeing big returns on customer satisfaction, engagement and brand advocacy. According to NM Incite, 71% of consumers who experience a quick and effective brand response on social media are likely to recommend that brand to others, compared to just 19% of customers that do not receive a response.
In terms of response expectations, a Social Habit survey notes that 32% of consumers expect a response within 30 minutes, and 42% expect a response within 60 minutes. If your brand can always meet or beat this, you’re delivering social wow that only one of the Interbrand Top 100 Brands is currently able to match. Integrating social as a seamless customer engagement channel and leveraging the data to make social CRM just another part of CRM – it’s a big next step, but it’s doable. Baby steps to just CRM, baby steps….
Parature’s new whitepaper, Customer Service: The Next Generation, covers the rising return on social customer engagement and (7) additional megatrends evolving customer service and the customer experience. The whitepaper features a wealth of new statistics and key insights from Forrester and Gartner analysts on best practices and the trends that demand every brand’s immediate attention.
