Customer relationship management (CRM) is integral to the long-term success of a company. Now, with online community participation and social media usage at an all-time high, social CRM is quickly being adopted. Quite possibly the missing link between sales and marketing, social CRM allows companies to monitor and engage customers like never before.
Definition of Social CRM (sCRM)
There are many definitions of social CRM available, but this one best defines the concept.
[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.
Esteban Kolsky, Three Reasons You Will Do Social CRM
The core function of successful sCRM is to integrate data pulled from social media platforms and use analytics to determine customer sentiment, industry trends, and social media return on investment. Social customer relationship management is the act of monitoring, engaging, and managing online conversations with prospects and clients.
Benefits of sCRM
The key to effective social CRM is transparency. And the secret to successful transparency in a business environment is to have a plan. Salespeople have call objectives, marketers have conversion goals, and customer service representatives have issue resolution plans. Social CRM combines all of these departmental aspirations into one unified customer-centric strategy. The number one benefit of successful sCRM is being able to actively seek out and engage prospects in the communication channel of their preference.
10 Step Check List for Successful sCRM
Social customer relationship management is a necessary business strategy. However, what works for one company may not work for another. The specifics of what will make your company’s sCRM efforts successful are unique to your business and its target audience. When laying the foundation for your social strategy, here are ten key steps to consider:
1. Assemble a team
An effective sCRM team should include employees from all relative departments, and a supervisor or manager who oversees daily activities, content distribution, and overall strategy execution.
2. Audit all social media accounts
Before implementing a social customer relationship management initiative it is important to identify what accounts a company currently uses, determine which employee accounts will be used for brand advocacy, and create any accounts that are missing from the social media portfolio.
3. Create a style guide
To ensure consistent messaging, it is essential to create a style guide. A style guide will outline the tone, industry-specific terms, desired hash tags, and general messaging guidelines for all online conversations.
4. Create a disaster plan
Be prepared for negative engagement. A disaster plan will dictate how employees should respond to negative feedback and any potential disaster. Create scenarios and openly discuss with employees to determine the most appropriate response timeline.
5. Train team members
The nuances of online communication are integral to building and maintaining successful customer relationships. To guarantee success, all team members should participate in communication skills training to improve their ability to converse effectively online.
6. Monitor prospect and customer conversations
Actively monitor brand name mentions, customer and prospect conversations, and industry experts across a variety of social media platforms. Proactively monitoring will aid in deflecting customer issues, staying aware of industry trends, and knowing what customers need and want.
7. Respond and resolve
Response time is crucial to successful sCRM. Always respond to everyone, positive or negative, and do so in a timely manner. Be sure to include specific timeframe expectations in your social customer service strategy for questions and service or product issues.
8. Amuse fans and followers
Social media channels are an ideal platform for promoting content, and also for creating amusement and distraction. Add value to your content stream by including the occasional witty quote or funny office photo. People bond to people, and showing a human side every once in while will go far in building rapport.
9. Engage and educate audience
While it is fun to see a funny photo go viral, do not forget the goal of your social media activity is to engage and educate customers and prospects with your content. Always aim to add value and attract readers by appealing to their various needs and wants.
10. Convert
Effective sCRM opens the door for developing a permission-based dialogue between a company and customer. Successful social customer relationship management will increase revenue by directing a higher volume of qualified leads to your website and/or specific conversion pages.
The value of social business practices and engaging in social selling is undeniable. Are you maximizing your social media activities?