What is Social CRM, Really? Insights from the Experts

Despite all the buzz about social CRM and how it will transform how companies do business, there is still a lot of confusion about what exactly social CRM is. That’s not surprising as social CRM actually consists of many, divided parts (which is discussed at length in the Altimeter Report below). For example, while Rapleaf helps firms identify which customers are active on social media and how influential they are,  companies like Radian6 and salesforce.com help with social media monitoring and managing/tracking customer interactions – all  of which are aspects of social CRM.

To help clarify what social CRM is, we’ve listed two of the best articles we’ve come across. While there are a lot of papers on this topic (some of which are very pricey), these two are not only free but also do the best job of aggregating and presenting information clearly. Enjoy!

The Social Contract: Customers, Companies, Communities, Conversations in the Age of the Collaborative Relationship

By Brent Leary et al.

This e-book is a great collection of short, eye-opening vignettes from 15 experts on how they’re building deeper relationships with today’s “social customers.” Topics include best practices, lessons learned, and the positive impacts of emphasizing social CRM. Contributing experts include DirecTV’s SVP of customer care, Barnes & Noble’s VP of social media, and the author of Your Call Is (Not That) Important to Us.

Social CRM: The New Rules of Relationship Management

by Jeremiah Owyang and Ray Wang at the Altimeter Group

This paper is a good primer on what social CRM consists of and its impact across all aspects of business. Not only does it provide guidance on what’s important and recommendations for getting started, it also breaks down social CRM into 18 use cases across marketing, sales, support, innovation, collaboration, and the customer experience.