Social media is such a valuable and extraordinary tool for customer relationship management (CRM) due to superior access to customers, a convenient and immediate means of communication and feedback, financial considerations and more.
What is CRM?
Customer relationship management (CRM) is the management of customer relations and communications as well as the relationships with future or potential customers and clients. It involves various aspects including marketing and customer service. CRM is necessary for managing your relationships with your target market through organization and also by responding to and utilizing existing data to make informed decisions for marketing campaigns and other business strategies.
CRM was once nearly only possible for the biggest firms with the greatest reserves of funds due to expensive computer hardware and software and the need for plenty of complex data systems and personnel. Technological advancements has made CRM possible for even single-owner businesses and it now even incredibly affordable as well due to social media platforms from Facebook to Google+.
Social Media: Benefits & Expectations
Social media for customer relationship management creates a two-way street benefitting all parties involved. It allows you to stay in close and easy contact with your customers and clients and vice versa. It is largely expected of a company to have some sort of social media presence today and companies on social media are even viewed as being more trustworthy and transparent by customers. This is a testament to how important this ability to communicate and interact so openly and immediately at the touch of a button is for competing in today’s business environment.
So you’ve made it to the realm of social media, what do your customers expect to see? Customers expect to see relevant and interesting updates and they are turned off by the “hard sell”. They expect company news including information on events and new products. They also expect to receive responses in a timely fashion whether they contact your firm via Tweet, Facebook post, Instagram comment or any other means.
Financial Considerations
There are substantial financial savings to be considered when using social media for CRM including savings on expenditures for expensive CRM software, call centers and customer service agents and representatives. Your marketing research expenditures are also possible to be reduced as you will enjoy firsthand feedback from the customers themselves giving you valuable input for your daily business, long-term goals and marketing strategies.
