The world is changing, the way we behave is changing, together with the way we do business. Even CRM is changing, as it has to adapt to the new types of customers appearing on the market.
The expansion of mobile devices and the increase in the popularity of social networks triggered a massive “socialization” phenomenon.
The client relationship management, or CRM, needs to develop a branch that will be able to keep up with the trends and recent requirements. This new branch is called social CRM, and it is different from the traditional type.
They have separate goals and use different means to address issues, but they both be a part of modern business, which wishes its popularity and sales.
So the way we collect data about our customers must shift and follow the current. When it comes to marketing, traditional CRM focuses on advertisers with the purpose of boosting sales.
Also, the communication for this will only be one way, starting from the company and going towards the customers. In social CRM, things change the other way around. Now, customers will want to establish a connection and communicate, and ditch advertising.
Also, more than half of the companies that moved their activity on social networks notice a significant cost reduction in their marketing expenses.
In the sales chapter, traditional CRM is focused on sales, by collecting data from customers and creating specific campaigns. The primary goal is to keep the customers hooked and wishing to get more.
Social CRM will not target direct customers, but the potential ones. It explores the corners where traditional CRM can’t reach with its methods. With the help of social commerce, sales are expected to increase by about 30% in the following five years.
There is also the customer feedback sector that needs to be covered. Traditional CRM will just contact the customers to ask for their opinion. Also, clients may choose to share their experience, through talking, but only in restrained groups. In social CRM, people share experiences with the help of social networks, making them visible to millions. More than half of Twitter’s users will recommend particular companies when posting their tweets.
There are differences when it comes to service and support as well. It is obvious that traditional CRM uses the ordinary customer service, which functions in the time frame set by the company. In many occasions, the customer service is operated by a robot, being impersonal and following a script. In social CRM, clients use their preferred social network for communicating a problem and expect for the company to answer back in a short notice, and in the same manner. About 15% of the customers that have ages ranging between 16 and 24 years old prefer using social networks in order to get in touch with the customer service.
Thus, the differences are visible, and we can tell that we won’t be able to make it these days without social CRM. It is imposed by our customers, and we have nothing left to do than to comply.