As the headline implies, even though Social CRM exists as an official category, what it is and what it is not is blurry and hotly debated. No, it doesn’t need a new definition. And, no, it doesn’t need new leadership. sCRM, and now “social enterprise” as categories could however, benefit from clarity around what it is they’re solving for, which companies actually provide solutions against those objectives, and ultimately, how everything works together for the benefit of customer engagement and…
Are You Building a Social Brand or a Social Business?
Part 8 in a series introducing my new book, The End of Business as Usual…this series serves as the book’s prequel. Social media says so much and so very little at the same time. First, social media implies that media is just that, social. But when you study many of the best practices or test the advice dispensed through popular “top 10” posts, you find that at the heart of notable social media successes is simply brilliant creativity and desirable…
I think we need some time apart, it’s not me, it’s you
Part 5 in a series introducing my new book, The End of Business as Usual…this is not content from the book, this series serves as its prequel. What do people want? If you don’t know, why not ask them? Seems like a common sense question to ask. However, when it comes to customer engagement and relations, common sense appears to be an uncommon virtue. The good news is that asking customers what they need is now easier than ever before….
The Rise of the Connected Customer and the New Era of Relevance
It’s not a widely kept secret, but customers do indeed keep companies in business. While businesses have long invested in improving customer relationships, the time has come to think beyond efficiencies and automation and examine new opportunities to rethink customer experiences overall. Why? Customers are more connected than ever before. The role they play has exploded beyond transactions and is now influencing the transactions of others as well as contributing to the brand experience at levels never before seen. It’s…
This is a Time for Leaders to Lead not React
If you’re reacting, someone else defines what you’re going to do, rather than defining what people need to do. Your businesses faces great change. This statement is true about customers, competitors, and everyone else affecting market behavior. The question is, what are you going to do about it? Customer engagement, and specifically customer engagement in social media offers many benefits that businesses are starting to uncover, most of it unintentionally. While many champions knew in their gut that social media…
Social CRM – Getting Down to Reality
Guest post by Paul Greenberg, author of CRM at the Speed of Light. Follow him on Twitter, please read his blog. First things first. Thank you, Brian. I am truly thrilled that I’m getting the honor of addressing your friends and I’m more thrilled even to be able to call you a friend. You know, I’ve spent a lot of time looking at the CRM market, as an analyst, consultant, journalist, blogger and whatever other chameleon-like title you can give…
Best of 2010: The Future of Business is Social
Social media and marketing have become synonymous over the years. At the same time, social media is placing the customer back in customer service. Each movement represents important and overdue (r)evolutions within business, but this is just the beginning. With every step toward progress we make in social media, we uncover what’s necessary to make real headway in the progress of progress. The future of business is social and as such, every aspect of business affected by outside activity will…
Social Business Takes a Human Touch, No Really
Served as inspiration for The End of Business as Usual… The socialization of media is the undercurrent for the Industrial Revolution of our time. Yet, here we are today, forcing social media into the aging paradigms that the social revolution set out to upset in the first place. Businesses still weigh the ROI of participation. Teams debate over who owns the company’s social presences. The parochial in middle and upper management see it as either a playground or an extension…
The Beginning of the End of Business As Usual
Listening is only the beginning. Engagement is the beginning of the end of business as usual. Once we hear, truly hear our customers and the people who influence our decisions, effective engagement is inspired by the empathy that develops simply by being human. We start to see things through the eyes of our consumers. We feel their pains, frustrations, and also happiness. We sense what it takes to encourage positive sentiment. Once we put “people” back into the mix, a…
Introducing The Conversation Prism Version 3.0
If a conversation takes place online and you’re not there to hear it, did it really happen? On August 5, 2008 JESS3 and I introduced version 1.0 of The Conversation Prism. Today, I’m proud to announce The Conversation Prism Version 3.0. With the introduction of 3.0, our view of the social media panorama is updated and also reflective of the real world that is embracing and organizing the social Web. One of the aspects that make social media so fascinating…
