What Are the Benefits of Social Media Tools for Relationship Management

I’ve used social media for relationship management for quite some time now, so I can definitely attest to the importance of social crm.You only have one shot to make a first impression and if your social interactions are not thought out, managed and dynamic then that’s going to be a tough shot to make. Social media tools help you to gain more control over your brand’s visibility by allowing you to manage multiple social profiles, profiles across multiple networks, as well as producing interactive and innovative features that allows brands to connect with their audience in ways they never could do before.

If you want to learn about how social media is making an impact on customer relationship management, then you’ve come to the right place. Throughout this article, we review the effect of social media interactions on customer relationship management and the benefits of social media tools for relationship management.

Why Go Social?

The most compelling reason to move your CRM to social media is because this is where your customers now live. It is the best place to get closer to customers because you can connect with them wherever they are. It is in this anywhere-anytime connection that the huge potential lies.

Because of this potential, there is also the opportunity for other positive things. Building greater relationships with you customers can increase your revenue. The more connected you are with your customers, the more loyal they will be to your brand.

Also, moving CRM online can help you cut costs and become more efficient. The combination of fast feedback and collaborative problem solving results in faster resolutions. This means that you and your customers can get back to business with less time and money wasted.

Managing Customer Expectations

If you’re going to use social media as a way to reach customers, it is best to play by their rules.

The social sphere wants instant communication. Customers expect this of their friends and they will expect this from you. In fact, one in four social media users think that brands should reply to their messages online within the hour.

This is where many social media newbies go wrong. To use CRM on social media in a productive way, you need to equip yourself with the tools you need to solve problems in this manner.

This preparation is essential. Mismanaging these problems can damage your reputation rather than strengthen it. This is because it all happens in the public sphere. Mistakes can live on the internet forever.

Your customers also expect you to produce quality content. They are more interested in looking at news and information than they are in promotions. Thus, you should construct a strategy that offers a balance between the two.

Above all, you should aim to keep your voice genuine and your content engaging. This helps assure your customers that they are interacting with real people and not faceless companies.

Three Ways to Use Social Media for CRM

There are three great ways to use social media when working with customers.

The first way is to use it for managing complaints. Social media is a good platform for complains. This is because it is easier to deal with detailed complaints in writing compared to working over the phone.

To deal with complaints, you should follow a two-step process. In step one, you need to respond to the public message posted by the customer. This is crucial because it allows other people to see that you do respond to these messages.

In step two, you move the conversation into the private sphere. The best thing to do is to try to resolve it via direct messaging on the platform. Only if the situation is too complicated should you ever move away from the social media network.

Social media in CRM does not need to be all about complaints. In fact, you should also use it positively. A good way to do this is to reward loyal customers. Customers who engage with your brand online are valuable to you and expend a lot of brain power in advocating your business. Thus, you can and should provide them with the rewards and incentives to continue doing so.

You can reward them online by liking or sharing their posts. However, do not skip the offline rewards. You can reach out to your favorite followers to collect their details to send them special gifts.

Finally, you can use social media to create more value in your products. There are opportunities online for you to both upsell and cross-sell your products.

Using social media for upselling is not about the sales pitch itself. It is about taking advantage of the right opportunities at the right time.

This is why it is important to keep up with what your customers are saying. You will then see these opportunities begin to come up organically. This provides you with a moment to swoop in, offering a valuable solution to those in need.

How to set up a social CRM process

Social CRM benefits all departments that work with customers or leads. It gives everyone a fuller picture of the people they’re talking to. That includes sales, customer service, tech support, marketing, and even product development.

Benefits of social CRM software

Faster customer service

Using social CRM doesn’t just allow service reps to speak directly with people, it enables them to listen to what people are saying among each other. With social listening, you never miss the chance to reach out and respond to anyone who’s got a question or issue. Plus, customers prefer to communicate through their social media profiles, so it’s best to have a presence there.

Build new relationships

When any online profile engages with your content or uses keywords you’re monitoring with social CRM, that’s an opportunity to expand your network. Some great social CRM tools also help you find the right target audiences to reach out to. And since you can easily stay up-to-date with their info and activity, you can offer them more personalized experiences.   

Better understand customer needs & issues

There’s a lot of data that builds up in the social sphere every moment. A social CRM helps navigate this info by giving you a broad-metric analytical overview of all the latest hot topics coming from around the globe on every social channel. It also lets you zero in on demographics, or pick up on specific categories of content that might be super relevant to your potential customers.

Build & improve brand reputation

When people complain about crummy products or lousy service through a post or a tweet, chances are they want to be heard. What better way to signal to the greater community your brand’s willingness to listen than not shying away from criticism? Instead, show gratitude for the feedback. Social CRMs also let you publicly reward loyal customers, as well as re-share their praises, so that even more people get wind of your unsolicited awesomeness.

Social CRM tools

Hootsuite

Hootsuite performs a couple of valuable social CRM functions. It allows you to set up a social listening program and consolidate social messages from multiple platforms in a single inbox.

From the inbox, you can assign social messages to the appropriate team members in the relevant department. They will be able to see the entire social conversation history, providing full context.

Sparkcentral

Sparkcentral is a social customer care tool that collects messages from different channels (social media and others) and distributes them to dedicated teams or support agents.

It allows customers to access service through social messaging apps (including WhatsApp), SMS, and live chat on your website or app.

Sparkcentral also integrates with Zendesk, Salesforce, and Microsoft Dynamics 365, making it possible to sync all customer contacts.

Salesforce

The Salesforce integration for Hootsuite allows you to attribute social interactions to leads, contacts, accounts, and cases. All teams get a fuller picture.

You can trigger Salesforce workflows based on social interactions. You’ll also be able to create targeted marketing lists based on social data.

Conclusion:

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