The traditional business to customer model has been altered dramatically over the last 18 months due to emerging social technologies (Video).  One-way communicating and shotgun media blasts are being ignored and blocked by audiences in every market segment.  From XM Radio, iTunes, Hulu, TiVo, RSS Readers and On-Demand Programming, the consumer has taken over the channels and the remote control.  Businesses are faced with the challenge of how to reach their target audience.  It is the “reach” perspective that is blinding their ability to adapt to the evolution of the new customer demands.

Corporate brainstorming sessions centered on the question, how we “reach” new customers is a complete waste of time, energy and resources.  The new question is:  How can we “meet” our consumers in their environment to learn how they think, feel and use our products or services?  The new business strategy of “social customer engagement” is the core of SocialCRM.

Over the last couple of decades, focus groups were the cutting edge method of learning how customers think and feel about a company’s products or services.  The setup of focus groups was wrong from the start.  With two-way mirrors and a third party facilitator, organizations sat on the other side in a dimly lit room hiding from their customers.  Under the guise of wanting honest comments, were they simply afraid to face the good, the bad and the ugly about how people felt about their product?  Corporate culture had handicapped companies abilities to have an honest conversation with people.

Regardless of the corporate culture impairment, the public is talking about their experiences with a company or their products.  They talk through text messages, 140 character status updates and tweets.  Companies like BestBuy, Comcast and JetBlue are just a few companies who are braving the Social Media waters and finding a sea of information.  Not only are they listening to what is being said by using social technology, but they are responding and acting on those status updates and tweets.  These progressive organizations are learning the new rules of SocialCRM.

Rcently there was a SocialCRM conference in Boston attended by several hundred people while an even larger group attended the event through streaming video and instant chat.  Representatives from large companies and social technologies formed a panel to discuss the impacts of Social Media and social customer engagement strategies. CLICK HERE to view a thread of the comments from that event.

So how does your business get started with SocialCRM through customer engagement strategies?

Search – Do a Google search on your company or product name.  Look for forums, groups or blogs where community participation is already being used by your customers.

Listen – Don’t jump into the conversation and try to defend your product. Don’t try to explain why you are right and they are wrong.

Respond – Ask questions to gain further clarity of comments or complaints.

Act – Make contact with those who are positive influencers of your brand and find out how to empower them to continue their advocacy of your brand.

Repeat – Search, Listen, Respond, Act

Is your business leveraging the information contained in social media sites relevant to your current clients and future prospects?  Most business have an internal data management system that records client transactions.  More sophisticated databases combine transactions and client interactions such as inbound and outbound emails or associated historical document  and merges them into a client profile.

These information rich databases are the digital assets of a business. SugarCRM is just one example of a web-based or on-demand customer relationship management tool used by successful businesses.

Many businesses use these CRM databases to forecast future business growth, to obtain client comments related to service experiences, or to market new products or services.  However, this information exchange is limited in scope due to natural barriers within internal communications.

Do people really say what they feel when a customer service representative calls?  Would they speak freely as they would with a friend or coworker about how they were treated?  For some reason, people have no problem saying exactly how they feel on their Facebook page.

Businesses are beginning to understand that their best and worst clients are speaking about their experiences everyday through digital voices.  Relying on postage paid comment cards isn’t going to get the job done anymore.  Whether it is a status update on Facebook, a tweet on Twitter, or through a comment on a blog post, people like to talk about their experience.  SocialCRM and customer service are two sides of the same coin.  Try a Google search with the name of your company and add the word sucks or great. You might be surprised at the results.  Proactive business may use Google Alerts to stay informed in regards to positive or negative digital feedback indexed on Google.

In addition to Google Alerts, some progressive companies are listening to comments made on Twitter.  Whether by using the Twitter search tool or by using Tweetdeck, companies are tracking keywords directly or indirectly about their business.

All of the tracking in the world doesn’t make any difference unless you do something about it.  Some companies simply try to have negative comments or posts removed from sites, which is almost impossible if it goes viral.

Within minutes, one post or video can spread through hundreds of websites.  Many company policy and procedure manuals are being rewritten as a result of these new channels of communication.  Not only is it comments from clients, but it is also comments from employees surfacing on the web.

Evidently, a lot of people are really bored out of their minds at work.  People are being fired over tweets and status updates.

It is evident that companies are afraid of what they can’t control.  The reaction of many companies is to block social media sites altogether, but at what expense?

What if there was a way to encourage the use of social media in the work place?

What if the channels were built in to the way business did business day to day?

Yes, it would require additional training and responsibility.  The way society interacts is changing. Why wouldn’t our business communication models change too?

Who is the catalyst for change in your organization?

Is the Marketing Manger the one to initiate the change?

Is it the Customer Service Manager?

Is it the Chief Executive Officer?

Whoever is the person to bring about fundamental change in your organization, they need to have access to the information and tools in order to make change happen.

If you need help convincing senior management that SocialCRM is essential, here is a great video.

Imagine combining the information from Facebook profiles and Twitter updates and merging that data into your CRM tool.

How might that information be helpful in maintaining the best relationship with your clients? How might that information be used to provide relevant product or service recommendations to your future clients? How might your customer service agents benefit from knowing in advance the concerns of your less than satisfied customers?

The information contained in a LinkedIn profile reads like an online resume.  Current and previous employer, level of education, hobbies, plus business contacts are included.  Think about the possibilities of leveraging that information to make personalized portfolio suggestions to your clients.

Imagine the possibilities of developing marketing plans that deliver custom content based on social media profiles.  The effectiveness of a campaign built around a client’s preferences, this is the goal of every marketing manager.

Few campaigns are successful because they lack the raw data to really understand how the client feels about your products.  Those feelings are now being expressed in 140 characters and can be indexed to better understand the true client to business relationship.

It’s time to set aside the fear of the unknown and put away all the excuses.  It’s time to fully engage your clients.  It’s time to empower your staff to listen, communicate, and energize your client relationships.

Creating your own SocialCRM Development Team:

• Begin by making a list of people you trust to speak on behalf of your organization.
• Select a small group of employees with great communication skills.
• Be ready to identify your biggest fans and find ways to build equity in their personal branding.
• Develop a process or workflow based on company name, products, or services mentioned in social media sites.
• Create your company branded Twitter account
• Create your company branded Facebook Page (Difference between Fan Pages and Group Pages)
• Set up Listening Dashboard – Tweetmeme , TweetGrid , Twitscoop
• Set up SocialCRM plugin – GetSocial
• Select other Social Media tools (35 Social Media Tools)

Research shows that companies who have a company branded social media site have greater client interaction than those who do not.  This requires a shift in marketing philosophy altogether.  The shift is from talking to people about your company to people talking about your company to others.

Building a 3D client view with SocialCRM is not limited to Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn profiles.  Imagine what happens when you turn the SocialCRM cube 90 degrees.  I’ll save that for another post.  I hope this article has sparked your thoughts about the future of CRM and Social Media.  I would love to hear your comments or feedback on what’s working for you or where the SocialCRM processes are breaking down.  Is it technology? Is it policy? Is it people?

Today I was asked to write an article for Social850.com discussing the topic of Facebook pages for Tallahassee small businesses.  The topic centered around Fan Pages vs. Group Pages.

In March of 2009, Facebook made a few changes to the structure of their site impacting the differences between Fan Pages and Group Pages.  The core change was how people can suggest or promote their pages.  I hope this post helps to define when to use a Fan Page versus a Group Page.

FAN Pages:

Indexed by Google – Fan Pages are indexed by Google providing SEO benefits for any business looking to grow their digital footprint.

Adding Applications – Fan Pages allow the use of adding Applications or widgets that can enhance the user interaction with Fans and a Business.  A complete list of applications can be found in the Facebook Application Directory.

Strategic Updates – Fan Page updates can be sent by age, gender and location by text with hyperlinks included.

Homepage Streaming Messages – Fan Page updates will show as notifications on a fan’s homepage, but also will display as a status update in the friend stream on the homepage.

Facebook Insights – Internal Facebook system providing metrics for number of fans, unique visitors, number of reviews and total interactions.

Suggest to Friends – This new feature allows Fans to send a message to friends to suggest becoming a Fan.  This was a key feature change in March making Fan pages more viral.

Group Pages:

Group participation – Group pages can be Open, Closed, or Secret offering various levels of participation.

Bulk Invitations – Group pages can send bulk emails to friends inviting to become a member.

Threaded Conversations – Group pages offer conversations in a threaded format providing for a more organized process of publishing information about certain topics or issues.

Officers – Groups pages allow the addition of offices which can be a measure of goodwill or just for community building fun.

Not indexed by search engines.

No Applications can be used to enhance page.

Summary

Facebook Pages are primarily used to promote businesses, non-profits, celebrities and artists to Facebook users.  Facebook states that “only the official representative of an artist, business, or brand may create a Facebook Page.” In other words, Pages are intended to be an “official” web page for your organization on Facebook.

Facebook Groups can be created by anyone interested in promoting and organizing people around a specific interests or cause. All members of a group have the ability to contribute content that appears on the Group’s wall – photos, videos, discussion threads.

If you have already created a Group page and want to create a Fan page, it’s not too late.  In fact, you can send a bulk message to your Group to let them know and urge them to become a Fan! Before you make your Fan page, here is an article on The Five Elements of a Sucessful Facebook Fan Page.

“Craigslist, the “free classifieds” site that offers community advertising in 570 markets worldwide but charges only for a tiny percentage of its ads, will generate $100 million in revenue in 2009, the AIM Group / Classified Intelligence estimated today. That’s an increase of more than 23 percent from Craigslist’s estimated revenue of $81 million in 2008, making clear that the company continues to grow significantly while many classified advertising publishers are reporting year-over-year drops of 50 percent or more in certain categories.” by Peter M Zollman of AIMGroup

Despite the controversy surrounding Craigslist sections called “Casual Encounters” and “Erotic Services,” the fact remains that Craigslist is a peer to peer community driven web portal.  Created in 1995 by founder Craig Newmark, Craigslist has more than 20 billion page views per month and projected revenue of $100 million this year.

I think it is ironic that the Business (for sale) category is less than one inch to the right from the Casual Encounters category.  Craigslist defies all the rules of ecommerce when it comes to website design:  no banner ads; no Google Ad Sense; no big banana buttons that scream, click here.  So why is it so successful? I believe one of the central reasons for its success is the constantly updated content created by Craigslist users.

Automotive, Jobs and Real Estate are some of the top categories with large volumes of inventory.  As a Tallahassee small business digital media consultant, I have worked with automotive and real estate companies who have listed inventory and/or properties on Tallahassee Craigslist.  One of my clients who owns several rental properties has leased a property in less than one hour on Craigslist.  Another client lists their automotive inventory priced below $12,000, and receives multiple calls per day.

Similar to its cousin Ebay, the success in listing on Craigslist is photos, descriptions and multiple points of contact.  I have seen listing after listing with no pictures, poor descriptions and no phone or email listed.  Putting a link to your business website or blog is another “best practice” and allows for good web traffic tracking through tools like Google Analytics.

Tallahassee businesses posting job listings are reporting over 300 to 500 responses per listing! If you are looking to hire and are looking for a low cost alternative, Craigslist is a great resource.  Taking the time to write a good job listing, including detailed job description, educational requirements and skills needed will help reduce the number of unqualified applicants.

If you haven’t started listing your products or services on Craigslist, your competitor probably has.  One tool for monitoring Craigslist is CL Desktop.  CL Desktop is an application built on Adobe AIR.  This tool is a very well designed tool for searching and tracking listings by topic.  CL Desktop is a free application to download from Adobe AIR Marketplace.

Every year the Chamber recognizes small businesses for their outstanding achievements and contributions to the community at its annual Small Business Excellence Awards program.  This year’s winner of the Small Business of the Year 1-4 Employees is Confidential Shredding & Recycling.

“Confidential Shredding & Recycling, Inc. is the premier mobile document shredding service which values client’s privacy and time.  Our mobile unit is equipped with a hydraulic lift system, which instantly feeds your confidential materials directly into the shredder.  With this state of the art equipment, our bonded professionals are able to shred your sensitive materials, hands free.  The shredding process may be viewed on our security surveillance camera system.  Clients’ are then provided with a Certificate of Destruction.” csrshredding.com

CSR gets it. Do a Google search for Confidential Shredding & Recycling in Tallahassee and you will find many reasons why they are deservedly the winner.  Take one look at their digital footprint and the evidence is clear: Social Media is an essential component of their marketing strategy.

Winner Small Business of the Year 1-4 Employees:

Website: Confidential Shredding & Recycling, Inc.

Facebook Fan Page for Confidential Shredding & Recycling

Twitter: http://twitter.com/CSRShredding

Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/confidentialshredding

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/confidentialshredding

Trusteria.com: http://www.trusteria.com/csrshredding/contact

Blogger: http://csrshredding.blogspot.com

What makes CSR a winner in my book is not just the fact that they have tackled Social Media head on, but that they are very involved in the Tallahassee community.  Within the same Google search, one can see CSR’s involvement with the Tallahassee Red Cross, Keep Tallahassee Leon County Beautiful and the Children’s Home Society.

Congratulations Confidential Shredding & Recycling! I am a big fan and a follower.

Best wishes and prosperity to you and your staff!

If the phrase “information is the new currency” was used to describe the emergence of technology in the late ’90s, then “social media is the new debit card” is the phrase for business 2010.    I use my debit card for just about every transaction.  Large or small it really doesn’t matter.  My bank doesn’t charge me a minimum fee for using it (although some places do).  Annoying! At the end of the day I can look at my online banking statement and see a real-time activity journal.  My weekly journal consists of visits to coffee shops, lunch expenditures, along with trips to Publix, Winn Dixie and Wal-Mart.  Anytime a transaction is made and I use my debit card, a record is created.  By looking at my online bank statements, one might be able to glean how I feel about spending money at the places I frequent during the week.

A similar assessment might be taken in regards to activities and conversations within social media.  Thousands and thousands of updates about experiences at coffee shops, restaurants and grocery stores are posted everyday.  Each of those updates/comments are recorded and posted on blogs, walls and message boards.  These digital logs are a new kind of online account statement.  Each update is an informational transaction.  The insight that could be learned by these digital statements could result in valuable assessments for a company that was paying attention.

Recently, I was preparing a Social Media proposal for a new client who requested case studies to be included in the documentation.  I came across hundreds of studies.  Surprisingly, this kind of market research has been circulating since 2005.  Everyday the conversation of how do businesses engage in social media arises, to which I reply, it’s never too late to join the conversation.  I always recommend listening and observing as a starting point.

If you are in charge of marketing at your company or you are the owner of a small business and need more convincing that Social Media is a viable means to grow your business, I am including some of the case study websites that I have found extremely helpful in attempting to reconcile the online statements of social media.

Case Studies

35 Examples of Corporate Social Media in Action

Word Of Mouth Marketing Association – Comprehensive Case Study Library

Groundswell by Forrester Research – 65 Corporate examples and 25 full case studies