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Social Customer Service: Why You Must Offer it Right Now

Social customer service incoming request channels

Social customer service is a 'hot topic'. However, it's not a holy grail. You offer it for a reason and not because everyone tells you that it matters. You need to understand what role it plays for your individual business and your customers to start with. However, social customer service nowadays is simply a must, even if the degree in which depends on the context. Popular platforms like Facebook and Twitter have traditionally been used to air grievances about a company. Those who could not get proper customer service from a business found that social media provided a way for them to overcome their frustration and get what your business owed them. These complaints not only helped them feel better, but other people who had also been mistreated by the company, loved hearing "someone speak up." Before too long many other people began to join them and voice their grievances. This new use of social media as a way to vent consumer indignation even created a new … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Social business, Social media marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

The Social, Connected and Human Post-Crisis Changes In The Financial Industry

global business concept

Recently, I had the pleasure to talk with marketing executives at some financial institutions and banks in mainland Europe. You might not immediately think “pleasure” when thinking about banks but to me, it really was a pleasure. The reason: during these conversations, I was surprised to see how far many of them stood regarding social CRM, cross-channel marketing, customer-centric business processes, mobile and increasingly content marketing and social media. In fact, when comparing the companies I talked with (of course I didn’t talk with all banks), with businesses from other verticals, it occurred to me that the financial industry was probably among the most innovating ones right now, if not the most innovating one. If my observations are more than that and indicate a trend, clearly  there must be a reason for it. And of course there is a very good reason why many corporations can learn a lot from the banks and financial institutions I had the pleasure to connect … [Read more...]

Filed Under: CRM, Cross-channel, Social media marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

When Is Social CRM Not Social CRM?

CRM

The industry still seems to be getting its knickers in a twist over terminology. 'Social CRM' has seemingly been settled on as the de facto term for the utilisation of social media to interact and engage with consumers for mutual value. But the matter is still far from settled. For instance, RightNow Technologies - allocated the number three slot in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Social CRM - has seemingly turned its back on the CRM industry, choosing instead to deliver products under the banner of CX. The unveiling of this new branding at the RightNow User Conference last October – where CX was described as the “big brother of CRM” – caused consternation in some quarters. Why create a new category when CRM and social CRM suit just fine? Well, comments from RightNow Technologies’ CMO, Jason Mittelstaedt, have ruffled more feathers. “Certain terms and topics only have so much life – there is nothing you can do to re-beautify a topic that is dead," Mittelstaedt … [Read more...]

Filed Under: CRM Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Blogs Are the Hubs of the Social Network Ecosystem

Blogging

Many businesses don't have a blog yet. Too bad since blogs are really social media hubs and more. But there is hope. Since blogs are almost a must for all businesses that want to do "something" with social media. A little more than a decade ago many companies had no websites. And if they had one, it was often no more than some online brochure. Now, for most businesses their website is a critical part of their daily basis and a hub where various online and offline activities start and come together. In little over ten years the corporate site has become a crucial component of the marketing and communication strategy. Today companies face a new challenge: social media. Actually, the challenge is not that new but the success of social media and the fact that people continuously want more control over the communication process and tap into their social networks force companies to use social media as well. Social media, including blogs, are so frequently used by people - and thus … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Content marketing, Social media marketing Tagged With: , , ,