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c h a p t e r2 :THE NEW ROLE OF THE CUSTOMER■collaborative processes that will shape your business or organization as you
move forward.
• Where your traditional CRM system is transaction-centric—defining customers
in terms of behaviors related to past purchases or interactions—Social CRM is
about tapping “what’s next” from their point of view. Like traditional CRM,
Social CRM is most useful when applied at the business (operational) level.
• Influencer identification programs—whether targeting bloggers specifically or
consumer/enthusiasts and similar influencers—can be automated, with the resul-
tant conversations routed directly into your organization and to the people where
it can be most effective. Look for automation, workflow, and contact manage-
ment when selecting social media analytics and influencer identification tools.
• Your employees are an integral component of your social business program.
Implementing a knowledge-assimilation-and-sharing platform can beneficially
impact the ability of your organization to respond to customer-generated
innovation.
In summary, social business involves the entire organization and the complete
management team in response to the newly defined role of the customer as a partici-
pant in your business. Some of the concepts and technologies may have grown out of
or been most recently associated with marketing. Unlike the adoption of social-media-
based marketing initiatives, however, picking up on and implementing ideas generated
through social business inputs requires the participation of the entire organization.Hands-On: Review These Resources
Review each of the following, combining the main points covered in the chapter and
the ways in which the following resources expand on these points. Then tie each into
your business or organization:
Paul Greenberg’s “Social CRM Comes of Age”
http://www.oracle.com/ocom/groups/public/@ocompublic/documents/
webcontent/036062.pdf
Jeremiah Owyang’s listing of Social CRM tools
http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2009/12/08/list-of-companies-providing-
social-crm
The 2009 Edelman Trust Barometer
http://www.edelman.com/trust/2009