Sent to you by Joe via Google Reader:
Has the emergence of social media as the next big thing (and not all that recently too!) totally displaced all other concerns and aspects of CRM hitherto considered important? Does having a nicely managed presence on Twitter, a super blog, smart wikis and generous media sharing guarantee that you have your social media act neatly in place? What are the benefits you expect? And does a perfectly executed social media strategy imply that you now have half your CRM strategy in place, in the new scheme of things? Would social media and CRM intersect in a Venn diagram, or does one figure as a subset of the other? Which is bigger? Are you sure?
At the risk of sounding very 'unsocial', I must admit all the noise about social media makes me a tad skeptical. Just how seriously should we take it? How finely should we filter out the eulogies and hype in the context of CRM & Social Media? Especially when social media itself is the loudest voice singing its praises! If one is to use social media effectively, in the context of business, isn't it important to know just how far this could help and where exaggerations come into play? Maybe it's a great tool, a magic wand if you will. It ultimately boils down to how you use, misuse, or abuse these interesting media, and that's possible only after you can see through the swirling haze and aura. And that's precisely what we seem to be having a little trouble with.
Social media is big. Agree. Social Media can revolutionize CRM. Maybe. Social media will turn CRM upside down and inside out and… Well… Not so sure about that one!
Social media holds enormous possibilities for individuals to network and connect in real time, in ways far easier than ever before. Social media is great for creating a personal brand and bouncing off ideas. In the context of an organization, social media cannot be used in exactly the same way as a person would. To state the obvious, the 'identity' of an organization is different from the identity of a person. So if organizations cannot use social media in the same way people can, should they get as excited about it? Or should they be getting excited for a host of other reasons and possibilities? More specifically, why exactly should your business be interested in social media for CRM? Should it even be?
Why should you as a business have an official presence on a social networking site or a microblogging site? "Because we do not want to NOT be there" doesn't sound a good answer, does it? So is that it? A lot of energy and enthusiasm with which we jump on the bandwagon because it has to be going somewhere worth going to? Could we be getting a little too carried away and losing sight of how far social media can go in adding value to CRM? And for whom? What we are going to do about the rest of it which still needs to be done? Maybe a far shot, but, what if those who pursue the 'boring basics' with redoubled focus eventually benefit in a bigger way, while their competitors go all out on social media neglecting the good old cornerstones of CRM?
I mean, I have to add a "-social" in my query almost every time I search online for meaningful information on anything CRM!
Before I get pelted just yet, let me clarify…
Social Media is not new. Social media is not a new channel of its own. Social media is not really for everybody. Which brings us to the question: why the hype?
Social media is NOT new.
Twitter was born in 2006. And Facebook, in 2004. Organizations have been "starting off" on social media for quite some time now; see this news article from 2006: Big business climbs aboard social media bandwagon. Corporate blogs aren't exactly new either. Here is a 2004 blog post by Jonathan Schwartz of Sun Microsystems. Businesses have been using social media in various forms for quite some time now, and it's a little late in the day for gushing.
Social media is not a new channel.
In a way, social media is a sub-channel, or a collection of sub-channels, of the mother medium: the internet. The entire sense of a revolution which we have by now come to associate with social media is in reality a series of mini-revolutions, related to each other, and well within the internet story. Social media are, in essence, internet based applications which facilitate easy interaction. It's about 'sharing' and 'talking', all in real time. And that's it.
Social media is not for everybody.
Most of the 'fun' part of social media in CRM lies in the B2C world, where the casual environment makes it easy to connect with customers, present and prospective, in a whole new way. It helps to interact directly and more quickly with contacts in a B2B scenario as well. People say there is something in it for everybody. But is that something substantial enough to be worth pursuing for your organization? Can your CRM Strategy be built around (or even include) social media regardless of the business you are in? Will social media really revolutionize the way you network with your stakeholders, or does it not even relate to your context at all?
Why the hype?
• We like hype. We do. Well, at least in the beginning.
• It's so easy. The real magic of social media lies in its accessibility. Anyone can get in. And this does have its own promising possibilities.
• It's "in the moment". Connecting in real time, and broadcast around the world.
• We were bored. The recession isn't as big news as it used to be. We needed something happy to brighten things up, the next big thing. Just in time, don't you think!
• It's fun. Isn't it? After your awkward first day/week/month on any of these tools or applications, things pick up and you start thinking, "Wow, now I see the point…" And before you know it, you are poking/tweeting/writing on walls almost round the clock.
• It works for some, and how. You have all these wonderful stories about how a fast food place/technology company/airline made this really smart move/service recovery/goof-up. Social media is powerful. For those who use it right. And that is precisely the part that we should be looking at by now.
• Fun meets Work. I'm working, using tools that I hitherto identified as toys. This is justified play at work. That's nice!
I do not hate social media
No, I am not trying to salvage my reputation and look 'social' (too late, eh?). Social media is certainly more than a passing influence on CRM. What we need is a way to understand just how to tame these dynamic tools in our specific situations (and whether the chase is worth it), now that the "eureka" moment is well in the past.
So what would happen once the hype dies down?
We could grow to fear it; just look at the angry customer who makes a punching bag out of your brand while the world looks on. We could gradually lose interest in it and maybe move on to the Next Big Thing (eco-friendly CRM or something…?). Or, hopefully, we could bring it outside the hype bubble, and develop the possibilities, adding it to a toolbox of useful ways to engage and interact with customers meaningfully, and not just because you can.
Social Media can be a live wire of sorts. There is potential and risk, and we would be unwise to let the opportunity pass in terms of how CRM can benefit. It could help you grow your business; it could make you lose out as well. But it's not the new CRM. The social media story started a while ago, and its role in CRM is primarily as one among many means to an end. Feel free to debate, because I too want to believe in social media. It's fun!
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