Social CRM represents an important marketing milestone because it combines social marketing and science.
Social CRM (Customer Relationship Management) marries mass, word-of-mouth, personal interactions with the principles of a sophisticated and software-based discipline; one that is more associated with 1-to-1 than 1-to-many relationships and B2B than B2C marketing. Because it connects many audiences plus is digital and measurable, Social CRM holds great promise for many marketers.
It is still early in its life cycle so there are different definitions and some think Social CRM is more of a buzzword than a real thing. But there are very smart CRM experts who believe it is a powerful tool that is going to with us for some time as the chart above shows.
To judge for yourself, here are 21 ways Social CRM is explained and shown by experts.
- Social CRM enhances the relationship aspect of CRM and builds on improving the relationship with more meaningful interactions. – Altimeter
- [Social] CRM is a philosophy and a business strategy, supported by a system and a technology, designed to improve human interaction in a business environment. – Oliver Blanchard
- Social CRM is the process by which organizations make clients an integral asset in the management of productive relationships. – Mark Bonnell
- Social CRM is a business philosophy that expands the borders of traditional customer relationship management beyond information, process and technology to people, conversations, and relationships. – Jas Dhillon
- Social CRM captures both the tools AND the processes around the tools to: 1) leverage crowd sourcing customer ideas, 2) apply the wisdom of crowds to those ideas, 3) create a public customer ecosystem, 4) take the customer experience and communication to the time, place and method the customer prefers and 5) increase customer intimacy and empowerment. – Michael Fauscette
- Social CRM is a strategy for harnessing communities to support customers and prospects, as well as sales, marketing and customer service organizations, along a purposeful and mutually beneficial business process – Gartner
- Social CRM is a philosophy and a business strategy, supported by a technology platform, business rules, workflow, processes and social characteristics, designed to engage the customer in a collaborative conversation in order to provide mutually beneficial value in a trusted & transparent business environment. It’s the company’s programmatic response to the customer’s control of the conversation. – Paul Greenberg
- Social CRM is the business strategy of engaging customers through Social Media with goal of building trust and brand loyalty. – Harish Kotadia, PH.D
- Social CRM is customer relationship management fostered by communication with customers through social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook. – Jacob Morgan
- Social CRM is a strategy to engage customers in a mutually beneficial conversation through the use of various technology platforms. – Tim Sanchez
- Social customer relationship management (Social CRM) refers to the use of social media and social media techniques to engage a business’s customer base. – Technopedia
- Social CRM is the integration of social media and CRM. Literally: Social + CRM. If you don’t have both, you don’t have Social CRM. – Bob Thompson
- Social CRM or SCRM is a business strategy that enables brands to proactively identify, engage and build advocacy with customers through social media in real time. – Kohiben Vodden
- A process to monitor, engage and manage conversations and relationships with existing and prospective customers and influencers across the internet, social networks and digital channels. – Martin Walsh
- Social CRM builds upon CRM by leveraging a social element that enables a business to connect customer conversations and relationships from social networking sites in to the CRM process. – Webopedia
- (Social CRM) is the use of social and traditional CRM tools and processes to support a strategy of customer engagement. – ZD Net
Since a picture is worth a 1000 words, here are 5 charts that show how Social CRM is defined.
From Brent Lear
From CapGemini
From CMSWire
From Mashable
From Social Media Examiner
And here’s one more definition – my own. Social CRM is the knowledge and tools to build personal and social relationships that result in business growth and profits that are measurable and scalable.
What’s your expert opinion on Social CRM?
Social CRM is Oktopost
[…] unclear topic in the industry today. Here are perspectives from experts on what Social CRM means.21 experts show and tell how they define Social CRMPosted on January 15, 2012 by Rob Petersen Social CRM represents an important marketing milestone […]
Rob you have done it again, posted something in my head I did not get to yet, well done.
When you are thinking about these things, what triggers you to write them? Is it a customers question, is it something you see via twitter or do you have really good dreams? 😉
Thanks Michele. Very kind of you. It’s a little bit of all those things but, as you know, topics should come from:
1. What do you think readers want to know about?
2. A blog post should always teach something new.
3. You have to give in order to get.
I think I learned much of this from you.
Rob
HI,
I’m not completely agree with this idea of Social CRM. We are using “The Social CRM” as a slogan. We often forget the main aspect : We have The Social CRM only knowing the social consumer. All the Social CRM platform are only Social Customer Care Platform. One of the biggest platform of Social CRM, some months agò, has change is slogan in Social Customer Suite…. It is necessary knowing the Social Customer to have the real Social CRM
[…] 21 experts show and tell what Social CRM means (barnraisersllc.com) […]
[…] запутаться) в том, что же это такое — вот вам еще 21 определение Social CRM. Лично мне ближе всего все-таки определение №5: […]
Nice post. I feel that Paul Greenberg offers the best of the bunch, but all are interesting to read. Control, or rather, a lack thereof, is a critical element to the definition.
I do find it interesting that some of the “experts” seem to be conflating SMM with social CRM or even sales pipeline strategies with social CRM. But, I suppose that’s merely an example of how hard it is for people to see reality when their business models are predicated on a belief that contradicts that reality.
Good read!
Thanks Alan. I agree it is interesting how SMM and Social CRM seem to be mixed a bit. I guess that might explain why there are so many definitions around. Glad you found the post helpful.
Rob
[…] a new layer of customer behavior data we can add to the equation. CRM experts have already begun to define a new social CRM, or SCRM. One approach to this is the Value TRInity, which integrates […]
Could you please find the time to fill out this questionnaire helping me with my thesis on CRM!
In order to write my thesis I need to do some research into Social CRM. I really hope you experts can help me and find the time to fill out this questionnaire. If you do so, first of all THANK YOU SO MUCH! And second I want to ask you to also describe the “why” in your answer. 🙂
1. Who are you and what is your profession?
2. What do you think is the power of Social Media for Customer Relationship Management?
3. Which type of Social Media tools do you think will suit for a company to stimulate their relationship with customers?
4. Is the usage of Social Media to improve Customer Relationship Management something every organization should do? Or are there specific requirements? Why?
5. What are the success factors for Social Media and Customer Relationship Management?
6. How should Social Media be implemented in Customer Relationship Management (internal)?
7. How useful is it to train your employees in how to talk with customers on Social Media before you implement this in your organization? Why?
8. Is it useful to hire a company that will take care of these training?
9. How does an implementation of Social Media for Customer Relationship should look like?
10. How do you stimulate your employees to use Social Media to communicate with their customers? Does the management need to communicate this top-down or bottom-up?
11. How do you handle resistance from the implementation of Social Media for Customer Relationship Management? Do you have any tips?
13. Do you have to force your employees to use Social Media? What is your experience? Did it work?
14. Do you have any tips on how to introduce Social Media for Customer Relationship Management? For a company that has never done this before?
15. What according to you are the risks involved with joining Social CRM?
Marieke,
Here are answers to your questions. Thanks for asking and good luck with your thesis.
1. Who are you and what is your profession?
Rob Petersen – online and social media marketing
2. What do you think is the power of Social Media for Customer Relationship Management?
Significant. For the standpoint of finding communities of customers with shared interest; depth of engagement; cost efficiency and ROI
3. Which type of Social Media tools do you think will suit for a company to stimulate their relationship with customers?
Blog, social networks, social promotion apps and metrics
4. Is the usage of Social Media to improve Customer Relationship Management something every organization should do? Or are there specific requirements? Why?
Yes, but only if there are clear about what they want to achieve; whare they will get resources and how they will measure progress
5. What are the success factors for Social Media and Customer Relationship Management?
Depend on the goal you set, but generally business measures like leads, conversion and sales
6. How should Social Media be implemented in Customer Relationship Management (internal)?
In an integrated way
7. How useful is it to train your employees in how to talk with customers on Social Media before you implement this in your organization? Why?
Identify keywords, key topics for conversation, shared interest and values of your customer; acknowledge bad as well as good comments; respond in a timely fashion
8. Is it useful to hire a company that will take care of these training?
If you don’t know how to do it or have the resources to commit to it, yes
9. How does an implementation of Social Media for Customer Relationship should look like?
Like the implementation of a CRM program; only with the integration of social netwrks
10. How do you stimulate your employees to use Social Media to communicate with their customers? Does the management need to communicate this top-down or bottom-up?
Once they know what to say and where to spend their time, have them commit to a certain number of hours and days a week to communicating with customers on social networks.
11. How do you handle resistance from the implementation of Social Media for Customer Relationship Management? Do you have any tips?
I would need to know the specific resistance and handle based on what it is.
13. Do you have to force your employees to use Social Media? What is your experience? Did it work?
No.
14. Do you have any tips on how to introduce Social Media for Customer Relationship Management? For a company that has never done this before?
Be clear about the business goals and clear about the role social media plays in achieving them and how success is going to be measured.
15. What according to you are the risks involved with joining Social CRM?
Like with anything – objectives/goals that are not defined; strategy that is not clear; lack of resources and commitment.
[…] would be at the core of the marketing plan. Today, this means his marketing plan might include CRM, Social CRM and, to keep and retain customers, possibly a Loyalty Club, Gamification and a Mobile […]
[…] Social CRM is a business philosophy that expands the borders of traditional customer relationship management beyond information, process and technology to people, conversations, and relationships. – Jas Dhillon […]