The Intersection of Social Networking and CRM
Adam Sarner, Gartner analyst, contends that in social networking, “CRM is where you are going to see the ROI in the business model as opposed to anywhere else. It’s all about connecting and engaging in new ways with customers,” (McKay 2009). This isn’t surprising. Customers using social networks want meaningful engagement with companies. And businesses want a way to manage and measure their forays in social networking. When social networks and CRM work together well, businesses gain the ability to better listen to customer conversations and engage social customers on their own terms while managing and measuring their efforts to do so. Social networks, by bringing in otherwise untapped and unmanaged online conversations, also help organizations get closer to a true 360-degree view of the customer so they can further optimize their marketing, sales, and customer service efforts.
A combined strategy for richer customer interactions
- Treat social networking as a new channel within CRM. Many companies already use CRM solutions to manage customers, contacts, interactions, and communications, so it makes sense to continue to use customer management tools when these activities move into social networking channels.
- Enhance and extend CRM through social networking. While social networking activities can be considered as an additional channel in CRM, they also extend and enhance the capabilities of CRM with new ways of engaging customers and managing conversations.
- Play to the strengths of both CRM and social networks. Use CRM and social networking sites together to better listen to customers, analyze information, and respond to customers in a way that’s meaningful to them.
Social Networking Accelerator for Microsoft Dynamics® CRM In order to help businesses implement these strategies, Microsoft offers the Social Networking Accelerator for Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Accelerators for Microsoft Dynamics CRM are add-on modules developed to address specific business needs. The Social Networking Accelerator allows Microsoft Dynamics CRM users to discover online conversations, identify influential people, and engage with them on social networking sites using their customer system of record—Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Additionally, the Social Networking Accelerator for Microsoft Dynamics CRM includes the same easy-to-use interface and industry leading analytics that allow organizations not only to capture data but also make sense of it. With the Social Networking Accelerator for Microsoft Dynamics CRM, marketing professionals can identify their most influential advocates and better manage the brand. Sales professionals can discover new leads and zero in on key data points, and customer service agents can proactively identify and address issues. 
Social Networking for Marketing Perhaps the biggest benefactor of social networking is the marketer. Social networking provides marketing organizations with new insights into their brand, innovative ways to execute and track grass-roots marketing programs, and new methods to turn fragmented online conversations into actionable insights. To do so, though, organizations will need ways to monitor, understand, and participate effectively in those conversations and leverage them in conjunction with existing marketing programs and processes.
Increase brand awareness The first step in engaging social customers is to listen to what they’re saying. While social networking sites provide a rich source of customer opinions and attitudes, the challenge is to capture this information in a useful form and in a way that benefits the business. The Social Networking Accelerator for Microsoft Dynamics CRM can help organizations increase the awareness of their brand and products and improve market sentiment by:
- Identifying key influencers in each product area to increase brand awareness.
- Automatically tracking public online conversations of interest within the customer system of record.
- Rating and tracking the sentiment of specific social networking conversations.
- Tracking online reaction to new announcements or developments.
- Keeping track of competitors by monitoring their public online conservations.
- Using social networks as a source of market research by creating online focus groups.
Better leverage online channels Social networks can also provide an excellent opportunity for grass-roots online marketing initiatives. Because social networks tend to be egalitarian and informal, they have the potential to appeal to customers at a personal level in a way that’s difficult through traditional channels. Marketing via social networking sites, however, does not replace traditional marketing. Instead, it should be treated as an additional channel with its own unique characteristics that complement other marketing efforts, an approach that can ultimately enhance the effectiveness of all channels. The Social Networking Accelerator for Microsoft Dynamics CRM can help marketing organizations engage social customers while managing and tracking their efforts by:
Better leverage online channels Social networks can also provide an excellent opportunity for grass-roots online marketing initiatives. Because social networks tend to be egalitarian and informal, they have the potential to appeal to customers at a personal level in a way that’s difficult through traditional channels. Marketing via social networking sites, however, does not replace traditional marketing. Instead, it should be treated as an additional channel with its own unique characteristics that complement other marketing efforts, an approach that can ultimately enhance the effectiveness of all channels. The Social Networking Accelerator for Microsoft Dynamics CRM can help marketing organizations engage social customers while managing and tracking their efforts by:
- Quickly spotting developing PR or perception issues and addressing them with pinpoint responses.
- Authoring social networking messages directly from the customer system of record.
- Automatically tracking responses to social networking messages or conversations.
- Seamlessly integrating social networking channels into existing marketing methodologies.
- Launching online marketing programs that engage social customers in their preferred environment.
- Seamlessly tracking responses and leads generated from online marketing efforts.
Measure results As social networks continue to emerge as a viable marketing vehicle, organizations will need flexible analytical tools to take that information and turn it into actionable insights. With these tools, social networking data can greatly enrich and expand upon information from traditional sources. The Social Networking Accelerator for Microsoft Dynamics CRM can help organizations capture useful data from social networks by:
- Identifying and tagging public online conversations about their product, brand, and industry.
- Analyzing message effectiveness by measuring impressions, replies, and other key metrics.
- Using pre-built analytics to track follower count and identify evolving trends in real-time.
- Gaining instant visibility into brand health with the Social Networking Dashboard.
- Using powerful analysis capabilities to identify the biggest online champions, influencers and complainers.
