The integration of data from social networks in CRM applications is helpful if the project is based on a well thought out initiative.
blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Four Square - hardly a subject employs marketing departments over social media. The provider of applications for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) such as Oracle and Salesforce.com have thrown himself with verve on the topic. They have extended their applications with capabilities to integrate new communication and interaction channels. For example, users can
the Salesforce.com suite own communities create, share where their customers are with each other and test new product ideas. The software needs observed at Facebook and Twitter. It also offers a chat function to service employees. The ensuing discussions can be recapitulated later manage, and evaluate. Even industry giants like SAP and Microsoft as well as smaller providers such as Wice now have their solutions at appropriate Interfaces developed.
The objectives of the company should be clear: They seek a comprehensive insight into the needs and behaviors of your customers. Social networks create transparency in the party from difficult by looking online discussions. Therefore, an analysis of supply of the central social media platforms have important implications for the business.
Dell is breaking new ground
Dell, for example, with the web site www.ideastorm.com created a platform to discuss the new and old customers ideas for new products. Several hundred of these proposals have been implemented to date. An often-voiced concern was, for example, mobile and stationary computers from equip work not only with Windows but also Linux. Dell also saves with the support of the blogs and forums claims to be a total of eleven million dollars a year. The online service relieves the customer's own hotline, because users help each other.
The new power of customers
The rapidly growing number of users of social networks shows that reach the services to private and business customers. They use media such as Twitter and Facebook, among other things to criticize about brands, products and service to the public or to praise. However, only a few companies have found a way to evaluate the feedback useful. In particular divisions for product development and customer service sollten die Meinungsbeiträge ernst nehmen, liefern sie doch Hinweise auf Probleme bei Produkten und Dienstleistungen.
Schlecht beraten sind Firmen, offenkundige Produkt- oder Servicemängel zu ignorieren. Unzufriedene Anwender haben das Internet schon mehrfach als Medium genutzt, um gegen Unternehmen vorzugehen. Im Jahr 2008 traf beispielsweise United Airlines der Zorn der Web-Community, als einem kanadischen Musiker die Gitarre beim Transport mit Fluglinie zerbrochen wurde. United Airline weigerte sich, den Schaden zu ersetzen. Daraufhin, verfasste der Sänger kurzerhand ein Lied, in dem er seinem Unmut freien Lauf ließ. Das YouTube-Video wurde anschließend knapp neun Millionen Mal abgerufen und in Blogs diskutiert sowie auf News-Portalen gepostet. United Airlines wurden schnell zum Paradebeispiel für schlechtes Beschwerde-Management im Social Web.
Strategien statt Technik
Das Risiko, seinen Ruf durch schlechten Service zu schädigen, ist deutlich gestiegen. Die Unternehmen müssen sich nicht nur mit dem Kundenerlebnis sondern auch mit der Bedeutung von Social Media für das eigene Image auseinandersetzen. Idealerweise wird diese Aufgabe vom Servicebereich übernommen, lauern in der Kundenbetreuung doch die größten Fallstricke.
Weder das Marketing, das vornehmlich auf neue Leads bedacht ist, noch der Vertrieb sind strukturell darauf ausgelegt, Belange des Kundendienstes angemessen zu bearbeiten. Für diese Abteilungen eine Social-Media-Initiative building would inevitably lead to isolated solutions. However, the customer collects the feedback, he can prepare the findings for marketing and sales, so that these departments have important information on products and services.
What makes a social media initiative
Without a clearly defined purpose of the success of a social media initiative will be difficult to measure. Should be defined as early as the company wants to communicate with customers and what are its objectives. This can, for example, low customer service costs, increased customer satisfaction and enhanced brand loyalty. Such projects must be coordinated across departments and will be appropriately anchored in the company, because in most cases change social media initiatives, the customer relationship. Stakeholder participation
measures around social media often fall to a halt if key allies are not from the legal department or communication brought on board from the beginning. Departments such as IT, sales, marketing, management, legal department and business communications should be invited to the meetings and kept informed. In this way social media is embedded from the start the company. Thus, the legal department, for example, stake out the framework within the community, and create rules of conduct and conditions for participation in the community. To unpleasant To avoid surprises, you should consult with the leaders of corporate communications, which may be published in the communities.
start slowly
A well-functioning social media initiative requires a strategy. Only in this way errors can be avoided in dealing with customers who may spread quickly in the network. Each customer-facing staff must play its role, responsibilities and the background to understand the project. Are the major concerns in particular managers at board level that employees behave in the wrong interaction with customers. Here, a cross-departmental process remedy that a uniform approach and message to customers developed.
social media initiatives to change the procedures in the company. Without the support of top management such initiatives usually are unsuccessful. The management requires not only the necessary resources, but should ideally also share themselves with customers online. To launch the initiative, no investment in software and tools are required. At first, it is enough to sift through for instance the main blogs and social networks for experience reports on their own products and services. On this basis can be integrated into existing applications such as Twitter. This often works at no additional license cost.
Social Media not ignore
Smaller companies will have to deal with Social Media - their customers use the possibilities of the Web, probably. A well-designed social media initiative can give companies an important impetus in product development. Moreover, the example shows Dell help that the findings on the Web not only lead to new solutions, but also save money.
Author: Frank Naujoks
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