Business Side Guide:Social Media Profile Management
Managing B2B customer information has never been easy.
CRM systems are rife with bad data and an inability to manage customer and contact profiles. Add subscription management to this and database marketers are continuously plagued with targeting inaccuracies and redundancy. Enter social media and you could be adding more complexity to the mix.
In an earlier post I talked about conversational preferences, and how customers choose to interact with your brand in social media. This is really an extension of subscription management and personalization of user experience. Customers can determine what emails they want to receive, what topics they are interested in, and how they should be contacted in general. It is quite common to sign-up not only for updates (emails) but to provide their information to access premium content. Yet, how many of you are asking for Twitter accounts or linking profiles to fan pages?
Right now, the way that most customers are connecting to companies within social media venues are by finding corporate outlets on their own. Some invitations may be going out to announce the launch of fan pages and Twitter accounts. There may also be a press release or message on the main website. But, overall, what I have found looking at various B2B sites is the same registration process and subscription choices. In fact, even on blogs, registration is confined to name, company, email, and phone.
If social media registration is available you see it for post comments, it is limited to name, email and a web address. Where is this going? Do you have a process to incorporate this information into your CRM system? Can you link these social media profiles to existing customer profiles in your customer databases? The beauty of social media today is that value is being delivered. However, it typically stands on its own without the ability to integrate into business practices extending value and showing a direct measurable contribution versus a qualitative/anecdotal perspective.
Why is social media linkage important?
- Single View of the Customer: Customer information isn’t further fractured into another silo, making it more difficult to manage the relationship.
- Consistent Message and Offers: The customer experience is unified to allow for relevant information and discussion based on relationship with the company (new vs. existing, firmographics, solution usage). It is rather embarrassing to send a new customer deal to an existing customer and it is better than they have.
- Connect to Internal Processes: Interactions lead into existing management processes that are measurable for ROI, support, and risk management.
For all the reasons that it is important to have a unified customer view and managed subscription practice for traditional customer relationship management, it is also important to incorporate the use of social media profiles into the mix.
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Social Media – Changing the Way We Communicate
Most people who use social networking sites will have one of those friends;
the friend who constantly updates his profile page. You, along with everyone else on his friends list, know every little humdrum detail about his life, from the color of his socks to what he had for dinner. Sometimes the frequent updates are entertaining, but more often than not they’re insufferable. It can quite often seem that social networking sites give us nothing more than unimportant detail. Even so, such sites aren’t just for the people who share too much information.
The use of social media sites such as Facebook, Google+ and Twitter has escalated in the last few years. More people are interacting online, and it is now so much easier to keep in touch with people, even with friends who you haven’t seen for years. You can communicate with your online friends as little or as much as you want. Social media has also been a huge benefit to family members who live far apart from each other. In the past, sending photos to others was a time-consuming affair, with photos having to be processed and then sent in the mail. Even email could take time, as recipients all had to be added to the email before it could be sent. Social media sites enable you to upload and share photos with all your friends and family at the click of a button.
Social media is fabulous for helping us find new and exciting businesses.
It’s easy for businesses to promote themselves on social media sites. A growing number of businesses are following their customers to Facebook, Twitter and Google+. As users we get to see what our favorite companies and products are up to. We often get exclusive coupons, advance notice of new products and the down low on upcoming sales. It’s smart for businesses because social media is where the customers are. Showing up on our newsfeed every day or week keeps their product and business fresh in our minds.
It’s easier than ever before to communicate with business on a personal level and in new ways. Social media tools such as real-time question and answer sessions, discussion boards, and social media parties enable the business and customers to interact in a meaningful way. Customers can really get an idea about the people that are behind a business.
Your world is a lot bigger because of social media. It’s simple to find people or groups who share your interests, hobbies, aspirations, or attitude towards life. Social networking sites unite people from across the world.
Social media sites have also made networking easier. In the past, we’d go to a conference and get a business card from someone and never contact them. It’s awkward to start a telephone conversation with I met you once at We risk sounding like a fool when the person on the other end of the line has no idea who we are. It’s so much easier to send a friend request. There’s no awkward silence on the other end of the line. You can add someone to your network right there from your smartphone before the conference is even over. In the age of cut-throat business, it’s important to network and keep in contact with associates.
The greatest advantage with social media is its convenience. You can use your smartphone, tablet or computer to easily access your social networking sites, and interact with your friends, family and business contacts. You can spend as much or as little time as you like communicating, without the pressure of face-to-face conversation.
The way people communicate has changed. Although you may have to filter out the posts from that friend about what she’s eaten today, the advantages of social media certainly outweigh the disadvantages. Social media has made interaction easy; there’s never been a better time than now to stay in touch.
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