CRM, as popularly understood, is short for Customer Relationship Management. However, with the rise of social media, there has been a growing emphasis on the R (Relationship). This is due to a common emphasis of social media marketers on the social relationship between business and customer.
Now the Harvard Business Review has published a blog that heavily contests these views.
In Three Myths about What Customers Want, Karen Freeman and co. list three misconceptions all centered around this view. In summary, the R in CRM is actually defined by the following things:
- Then nature of the ‘relationship’. – Is it really a ‘relationship’ or is it just a buyer coming over to check something?
- Shared values – It’s what you have in common and not how much time you spend talking.
- More interaction isn’t always good – You’re more likely to commit the crime of information overload.
So what does this mean for CRM software firms and will this affect the way you engage your own market? Or if you’re outsourcing, does this change the standards you may have for how companies engage prospects for you? Well if there’s anything you want to take from the statistics, it’s the fact that you really need to define what is connecting you with them. How do they view your product? Does your interaction gear towards finding something in common or do you just yak? And speaking of yakking, is it at the very least helpful to the other end?
Remember, that your sales leads stand for information and that information should be more about what they divulge to you with what you only giving in turn when they ask for it.
