Social Goes CRM
In recent weeks we have reviewed several social media software vendors one thing has become clear. In one of our previous posts CRM Goes Social http://tinyurl.com/6prdwrx we observed how CRM vendors were adding social capabilities to add to the functionality of their CRM suites. Now it seems the pendulum has swung the other way.
Social vendors are starting to incorporate CRM functionality within their social suites. In the social realm where collaboration plays a big part of the social experience and adds to the social enterprise vendors are now incorporating relationship management into their software. Within social collaboration it is imperative to add the ability to acquire customer information from the many different social sites where profiles exist. Companies are now using social software as a form of gathering BI about customers, image management, what is being said about your company and customer preferences and displeasures.
These solutions are rapidly evolving into powerful BI tools so that organizations can cater their messages specific to each individual customer thereby personalizing the customer experience. With more use everyday it becomes apparent these tools have evolved rapidly to extending Social, BI, CRM, Collaboration, data aggregation and new trend – content management from many sources. Further, the pricing is very competitive and is a broken into two types of market – enterprise and SMB. These two markets have really defined the social space in that they handle features and functions differently and even pricing models. The approaches are quite different SMB’s require more tools to proliferate their profile throughout the social media ecosystems whereas the enterprise companies mainly are using this for collaboration and the external social interactions are a nice bonus.
Our research in this space shows that organizations are very quick to switch social media platforms and solutions due to the SaaS and cloud options they provide. The easy implementation and shortened time period that these solutions require to implement lower risk, save money, save time and ease administration headaches. Social media software vendors need to take note here as organizations are quick to jump from one vendor to another especially using SaaS – there is no loyalty from organizations. Whatever your space enterprise or SMB there are subtle marketing differences that vendors should be aware of. Contact us for more research on this.
Eval‐Source is a consulting firm that provides enterprise software selection and strategic technology consulting services for organizations. Our consulting practices encompass cloud and on-premise software evaluation services, ERP, Supply Chain strategy, social media and technology consulting. Eval‐Source is an industry leader in the analysis of software technology and our thought leadership has placed us in the elite of consulting/analyst firms. What sets us apart is our unbiased best in class consulting services that provide our clients with value, direction and success in selection, planning and infrastructure planning of their technology systems. Eval-Source can assist organizations in any phase of their selection process.
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