Social media is a revolution, not fad, and CRM – with or without the word “social” in front of it – is all about creating the best experience possible for your customers. Put them together and they add up to doing different things than you did in a traditional marketing program.
Once upon a time when people were in the market for items or services, they called someone whose opinion they respected and asked for advice. Families stuck with tried and true brands of food products, clothing and shoes for generations. More recently, younger consumers have copied movie stars’ and rock musicians’ consumption patterns.
Whether yours is a B2C or B2B enterprise, your customers now get most of their information from online sources. People research the field to compare your goods or services with those of your competitors; share that information in discussion groups where they connect with others who have similar interests, and ultimately buy their preferred choices based on an amalgamation of these facts and influences.
To market successfully to this crowd, the question is not if, but how will you incorporate social media into your CRM processes. The more you know about your target audiences and where they are showing up online, the better you will be able to prioritize your social media choices and activities. A highly-customizable CRM system can make this easier for you than one which continually requires switching in and out of various software programs. To make the greatest impact, stay focused within one environment.
Learn more with our video How Social Media Is Driving the Future of CRM.
Best wishes, Connie