Now that my site is no longer hacked it’s great to get back on topic. I want to pick things up where I left off with Social CRM last week. So far we talked about the introduction to Social CRM and have also looked at Social CRM automation. Today I want to talk about something that I feel companies are not doing to help themselves with Social CRM and that is letting their customers and potential customers know where they exist online. Think about it, when is the last time you visited a large brand website or purchased a product and knew exactly where you could find that brand online to have a conversation? What happens most of the time is that consumers have conversations online and then brands find them. Any time a transaction takes place or anytime a potential customer views a product, they should immediately know how to find that company online.
I spent some time in Vegas during CES where I had the opportunity to meet with folks from the Wynn hotel (which is awesome). The Wynn does something very interesting when you sign up for their “Red Card,” (their players card). When you sign up for the card they ask you for your twitter account if you have one. I would take this a step further. When people sign up for a hotel and give their email address the hotel should be able to scan social networks and website to see where that person has a presence online and then connect with them. You can then use this information for when you send out links across social sites to see how specific individuals are interacting with your content.
Most Social CRM today relies on companies and brands going to the conversation. We use listening and monitoring tools to find conversations and respond to them, but what do brands actually do to help consumers come to them? Part of Social CRM is all about empowering the customer. Companies need to empower their customers to come to them directly to ask questions and engage in conversations. When visiting a website such as Dell, Southwest Airlines, or Kodak why aren’t these brands clearly pointing out where consumers can find these brands on Twitter or Facebook? If I purchase a product from Dell, then Dell should tell me that if I need any type of customer service support that I can just send a reply to someone on twitter.
Brands should not always be waiting for consumers to come into the digital world to engage with them. Brands need to start bringing the digital world to the offline world. One example of this was Coke that imprinted their twitter id’s on a new product that they launched in the UK.
Getting over fear and conformity is an issue that brands need to get over. What do you think? How can brands to a better job at empowering the customers and improving their Social CRM efforts by letting their customer know where exist online?
Starbucks and Home Depot are two companies that do a good job of driving me to their websites, and they have a simple tactic to accomplish this! The last time I went into Starbucks and I asked for the balance on my Starbucks card after getting the usual coffee, the receipt they gave me offered me a free coffee if I filled out their online survey. Home Depot, on their sales receipt, said they would enter me in a draw for a prize if I went and filled out an online survey. Both these companies should take it one step further and make filling in your twitter account part of the survey!
I love your perspective on how brands need to take the initiative and let their customers know how they can converse with them on line. Each point of contact is an opportunity to connect the communication channels and it takes a human focused, relationship centric culture to make it happen.
Hi Ron. Do these companies drive you from their websites to their other existing online locations such as twitter and/or facebook? I checked out the HD site and on the very bottom of the page they have links to sites such as twitter but they don't say why or what the purpose is. I think this is a mistake on businesses need to focus more on purposeful connections instead of just presences online. Thanks for the comment!
Hi Mark,
Thanks for the comment. We definitely need to take things one step further to move past using social networks merely as address books to actual networking and connection tools.
The interesting thing is that both these companies had my full attention during those online surveys I took. They should have taken advantage of my full attention during those online surveys to inform me of their twitter or facebook page or to ask me for my twitter or facebook page. Both these companies have missed out on the opportunity to use social media in the future to market ads or promotions directly to me.
Jacob,
I have been following this CRM discussion the last few posts (sorry about the hack, bust). This is something I am looking at more and more, and thanks to your posts have been more aware of when shopping online and visiting sites. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, I hope you point more examples of this out in the future.
I find it so interesting that the folks at the Wynn would get your Twitter information. The other day made a tweet about a restaurant and then the Restaurant re-tweeted my post and started following me. I was super surprised!!
Well with maximize and managing your direct sales and setting up sales teams and distributing leads through Sales Force Automation helps your customers.You can do it by utilizing your email management tool and help customers to discover the most powerful email system available in a CRM which in turn helps you in your business.
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If it's handle well by SEO and Marketing strategist then I'm sure it is easy to find your products online, but it still depends on how competitive your product is. Other strategy can go with promotional gift and stuff just to gain more buyers and people.
-Val
it's a great information, I wonder any people dislike this site,
people should respect each other especially people who want share knowledge
Pretty good post and content. Customers take to social media avenues to praise, criticize, review, and give feedback. The companies who pay attention and interact with these clients have the opportunity to create favorable impressions and therefore increase the amount of leads they can input into their sales funnel.
Sales Force Automation Software | Marketing Software
I followed this discussion just the latest CRM messages (sorry for the gimmick, bust). This seems more and more, and because their messages were more aware of online shopping sites and access. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, I wish you the most developed examples of this in the future.
CRM today totally depends on keeping our customers engage with you. Let them know that how much they are important to you. Assure them you can cause benefit for them