According to DestinationCRM.com, Customer Relationship Management is a company-wide business strategy, which aims for customer satisfaction. This approach brings together all data sources in order to get a complete picture and understanding of the customer. With the advent of social media, this can be achieved in real-time.

According to Forbes, spending on social media applications, marketing and customer service processes has reached $1 Billion worldwide (2012), so it’s imperative to know everything about customers’ social media presence. Also, CRM analytic tools can help companies gain in-depth knowledge about customers’ brand awareness and demographics, which can assist in product development and, most importantly, personalised customer service (Mashable.com). In order for CRM to be effective, one important factor needs to always be kept in mind: All the power lies with the customer and not the advertisers.

The social customer’s needs

Today’s customer is a social creature – of the virtual kind. They trawl the Internet using various social platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter. However, it’s usually not aimless surfing, as they are always on the lookout for relevant information. According to Mashable.com, the social customer doesn’t respond kindly to spam or in-your-face marketing. Instead, they’re drawn to what interests them and what their peers like (their most trusted sources). The social customer wants personalised engagement from companies, not unsolicited advertising.

The customer is in control

In order for social CRM to work, there needs to be a two-way relationship between customer and organisation (Mashable.com). Previously, CRM focused on just the management part (as its name suggests), but the social media landscape has changed all of this, as now the customer is fully in control. The customer expects the organisation to understand their wants and needs, and to respond at lightening-speed (in real-time, preferably). This happens across all of the social networks, so organisations need to constantly monitor social media platforms.

According to Mashable.com, they need to listen to what the customer says, then analyse it, relate it to existing information (about the product and customer), and take action (customer service). For example, a customer could post a complaint on Twitter, praise on Facebook or a query on a user forum. The organisation picks this up instantly and responds with relevant information.

Successful Social CRM

According to Inc.com, the customer expects the organisation to have a deep knowledge about them, and they want personal interaction and engagement. Social CRM allows organisations to view customers across various social media platforms in real-time, so they can get to know the customer intimately. They’ll find out where they like to eat, what music they listen to, what books they read, where they live and who’s in their netowrks.

CRM can only be successful once the organisation has a clear, full understanding of the customer. Ultimately, the customer needs to find value from an organisation (or product), and the organisation needs to constantly ask itself, “Is this relevant to the customer?” (Forbes). Also, social media is constantly changing (along with the customers’ interests, wants and needs), so the whole process should be continuously revised and developed.

Social media is part of everyday life now, and CRM needs to take advantage of this. Customer satisfaction can only be achieved if there is a close two-way relationship based on in-depth knowledge and lots of communication. Social CRM should take into account that the customer needs value, relevancy and personalised engagement, not to mention that the customer is king.

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