Create a Social CRM to Deliver Customer Experience and Engagement
There is a lot in the press and online about social CRM, but not many businesses ever mention this. Strange? Yes. Worrying? VERY!
There is a lot in the press and online about social CRM, but not many businesses ever mention this. Strange? Yes. Worrying? Very!
In a recent survey from the Economist Intelligence Unit, 176 UK business executives, covering a range of functions, industries and business size, found 84% felt their customers were connected and three quarters understood the need to engage with them, but only 29% had addressed this.
Is it because we still don’t fully understand how social CRM can deliver brilliant customer experience and engagement? Perhaps it’s because you believe social should reside with your PR agency or that it’s not even worth bothering with; it’s not like customers buy through social.
But what does social engagement look like – customers and prospects are interacting with your brand and business via social media – at all levels: from the very start of their journey; before they’ve become a customer; when they’ve clicked to buy or walked in-store or made a call and when they’ve bought the product.
Social is no longer something delivered in isolation, by one department or function – it is the whole business. So do you need it, I certainly believe so.
Social CRM businesses can do things faster, better and more efficiently. They react to customer issues quickly; they change to meet the needs of the connected customer and deliver new services faster, and they are more personal, engaging and likeable. With social CRM and the connected environment that surrounds us, a good experience can lead to not one but thousands of engaged connections and a negative experience can lead to potentially more than that.
One of the biggest fears remains interacting with customers may lead to adverse online comments and social media posts, well whether you are there or not they will still be talking about you.
Look at how our work below with World Horse Welfare managed to take engagement with the equine Facebook audience to deliver an important message for change to support a Private Members Bill.
It’s not just about marketing either; our client Nutribullet uses social to handle customer feedback and engage with their customers every day, which makes for happy customers and builds their brand on a one-to-one basis. Reducing customer service centre calls and increasing sales.