Social media and CRM

Well begun is half done, as they say. Michael Reynolds of SpinWeb has a good post on the issue of social media and CRM. As a CRM [customer relationship management] consultant ==> social media meister, I couldn’t resist weighing in on this article with a few thoughts of my own. First Michael…

“According to Dr. Ivan Misner, the father of BNI, “The best CRM application is the one you will use”. This is a great way of saying that all the fancy CRM programs and features in the world will not make a difference if your software is too complex or no fun to use. For that reason, I know many people who get by just fine with an Excel spreadsheet. It works for them because it’s simple and it makes sense.

However, what about using social networks for CRM? Sure, social media is all the buzz right now and sometimes very effectively used as a marketing medium but how about using it more systematically and tracking your customer relationships using these networks? I’ve presented some ways here that you can use the “big three” networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter) for CRM.” Source: Using Social Networks for CRM

Michael goes on to discuss how LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter can be bent toward this purpose…

“Can social networks replace standard CRM software? Maybe in some cases, but more often I can see them supplementing your core database. Social networks give us an extended, organic database that updates in real time with information that can be very valuable to account managers and sales professionals. Why not take advantage of this and use social networks to stay more connected to your customers and provide better service?” Source: Using Social Networks for CRM

There are two additions I’d like to make. First, simply monitoring LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook is too time intensive! I recommend a new tool called Gist as a way of tracking them all. It’s not to say that LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter aren’t essential components of ‘social crm’, but Gist is the glue that brings them [and all a contact's other online content] together in a single dashboard. Reviews or information on Gist are scarce, but here’s a good demo from social media goddess Erin Blaskie that will give you the gist of Gist [sorry!]…

Secondly, as good as Gist is, I don’t think of it as CRM. I think of it as BASF. You know, ‘we don’t make the cassette, we make it better’ — Gist amplifies CRM by giving you a dashboard to help track the important people in your business…

True CRM is a different discipline altogether. It has the ability to track opportunities through a business development process and attach activities and information against the players [individuals and companies] associated with it. If you’re an entrepreneur who needs the discipline of CRM [and I highly recommend developing that discipline!], use Gist in conjunction with Zoho CRM. If money is no object, consider using Salesforce.com in conjunction with InsideView, a truly social addition to crm, although watch Salesforce.com closely!

Questions? Feedback? Comment, call or contact me to discuss how this applies to your project…