-
March 1, 2008
- By
Paul Greenberg, founder and managing principal, The 56 Group
Everything Is Social
Facebook (among others) has been hogging the social networking buzz for a long time. By now, there isn't a human in the known universe who isn't acquainted with the coolness of being (and the need to be) social -- and aggressively online about it.
In November, Google entered the fray with its Open Social API, which has potentially staggering implications for business and for the social institutions that underpin how we communicate these days. First, the thing itself: a common set of standards-based application programming interfaces (APIs) that can be used to build social networking applications. This framework will standardize access to social networks either individually or as interconnected groups via a common set of reusable applications. These applications would access profiles; trigger or record interactions among members or between members and the network; or monitor or allow persistent behaviors on the site. The second factor involves the roughly 75 companies engaged in the first phase of Open Social, including Salesforce.com and Oracle -- CRM powerhouses committed to a common social framework.
The recent shift in how we communicate -- text messaging, instant messaging, blogs, wikis, podcasts, commentary on social networks, and varying permutations and combinations of all of them -- has transformed how customers think.
Actually, that's a bit of a misstatement. It's transformed how people think. The transformation drivers have been social, not commercial: A 2007 report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that elite technology users comprise 31 percent of the U.S. population. Middle-of-the-road users represent another 20 percent.
In other words, over half of the country is already conversant in the technologies that are helping to enable what people expect: instantaneous (or nearly instantaneous) response that allows them to make informed decisions, received in their preferred ways. And they expect the information to be true -- not hype, not spin, but true. This expectation is of a peer speaking either actually or virtually to other peers; the customer speaking in the same fashion with the vendor/supplier company; the constituents speaking with their responsive government agencies; potential voters speaking with candidates; and volunteers speaking with their favorite causes. In short, it impacts all societal institutions across the board. But it has particular impact for business. The workplace and customers are now expecting to have this social informality available to them from companies -- and companies that do it well, do well:
Procter & Gamble's Vocalpoint, its once-internal feedback and viral marketing network of 600,000 moms, each with a network of 25 or more of their own (the math equals 15 million), is now a profit center with its own CEO, propagating non-P&G products to the network -- for a price, of course. Wachovia has a framework to introduce a homegrown social network to its 110,000 employees, adding profiles, photos, information sharing, and participation in communities.
Neither of these is a Facebook; they're homegrown networks using social frameworks. The variance is wide: Vocalpoint is a facilitated network that's mostly physical and neighborhood-based, while Wachovia's social network will be more of an online watercooler. But they both meet the social framework criteria:
- communication in peer-to-peer or peer-to-institutional environments, in ways that are organic and personal;
- services, look-and-feel, rewards, and features all organized to facilitate personalized communication;
- focused around sharing -- whether that be ideas, photos, videos, personal information, activities, or opinions;
- an implied contract regarding personal details, with an eye toward the very real privacy concerns involved.
CRM vendors have just begun to understand this. Salesforce.com, Oracle, SAP, and (to some degree) Microsoft are all integrating social frameworks to enhance deeper customer engagement and better customer experiences. Oracle is adding community-based features into its Fusion products; SAP CRM 2007 has a more intuitive look-and-feel, community features, and mobile CRM, incorporating the way that younger generations do business: socially.
We're not done making a reproducible social framework for these communities. There are questions to be answered, but this is big now -- so now is the time to adopt the tools to engage your customers. I know, because my friends told me so -- via email, text, IM, smartphones, Facebook....
Paul Greenberg is president of The 56 Group (the56group.typepad.com), a strategic CRM consulting services firm, and a cofounder of CRM training company BPT Partners. The fourth edition of his best-selling book, CRM at the Speed of Light, will be out in December 2008.
Related Articles
Collaboration Software Vendors Come Together on Forrester Wave
02 Sep 2009
Microsoft and IBM do the most sharing, with Novell playing close behind.
Managing Social Customers for Profit
01 Aug 2009
A new paradigm calls for a reassessment of an industry metric.
Social Customers Want to Engage
01 Apr 2009
But are you prepared to let them?
Zuora Subscribes to Facebook
03 Mar 2009
On-demand billing vendor Zuora takes its Z-Commerce platform to the social networking cloud.
Listen and Ye Shall Hear: 2009 Forrester Wave on Listening Platforms
13 Feb 2009
Forrester Wave on Listening Platforms '09: The analyst firm listens closely to a market segment that used to be known as brand monitoring.
Forrester Waves to the Top Providers of Community Platforms
14 Jan 2009
The research firm compares the top vendors in the space.
Life in the Fast Lane of Context
01 Jan 2009
Providing an experience requires a better understanding of your customers.
Gather the Tools for Customer Engagement
01 Nov 2008
Social media is changing the face of CRM. Are you prepared?
Socialized CRM
01 Sep 2008
CRM has never prioritized the individual salesperson—but social networking changes all that.
CRM 2.0 and "The Customer Module"
19 Aug 2008
destinationCRM 2008: The customer module is based on the idea that united we stand, divided we fall -- and it's what CRM has been missing.
CRM’s a Social Animal
01 Jul 2008
On The Scene: Web 2.0 -- As enterprise social computing takes off -- and employees clamor for more -- CRM providers scramble to connect, as well.
A Company Like Me
01 Jul 2008
It's going to take a very special kind of organization to truly make a personal connection with customers.
Time for CRM to Get Social
26 May 2008
Why? Because 274 million people use some form of social networking.
B2B Marketers Still Hesitant to Get Social
23 Oct 2008
Forrester report shows that B2B marketing, unlike its B2C counterpart, may be lax in diving into Web 2.0 business efforts.
Your Customers Want You to Join Them
06 Oct 2008
New research from Cone LLC finds 93 percent of Americans want companies to have a presence in social media.
Oracle Joins the Conversation
29 Sep 2008
Oracle OpenWorld '08: The vendor introduces and expands Social CRM applications and an initiative to integrate social networking with CRM.
The 2008 CRM Market Awards: Influential Leaders -- Paul Greenberg
01 Sep 2008
The Herald: Paul Greenberg -- chief customer officer, BPT Partners; president, The 56 Group.
"White-Label" Social Networking to Hit the Enterprise
23 Jul 2008
ABI Research predicts the industry will reach $1.3 billion within five years.
Attaining Enterprise 2.0 Through 'Social CRM'
29 Jul 2008
Social computing meets business value.
Big Red Gets Social
10 Jun 2008
Enterprise megavendor Oracle offers a taste of its social networking-inspired on-demand applications at the Enterprise 2.0 conference.
Studies Show Steadfast Social Networking Growth
12 May 2008
Gartner and IDC reports show Enterprise 2.0 is growing among enterprises and a valuable resource for retailers.
Try to Dig What We All Say
01 Nov 2006
It's time for marketers to understand how social networking sites cater to every generation.
Social Networking Continues to Permeate Customer Service Solutions
06 Feb 2008
The expanded partnership between eVergance and Jive Software underscores a growing need to provide tools enabling online consumer forums.
Managers Jump Up and Down for Social Networking
31 Mar 2008
Enterprise social networking takes flight with Trampoline Systems' newest release.
Loyalty Versus Commitment
19 Apr 2004
Loyalty doesn't have a bidirectional requirement, but the relationship between customers and a business demands that two-way street.
Tech Solution: Social Networking Tools
01 Nov 2007
Business Problem: Inability to generate qualified contacts and leads within customer companies.
Collaboration: The ''C'' in CRM
30 Jan 2008
CRM is changing, and you better change with it.
Buyer's Guide Companies Mentioned