Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a method of understanding the customer behavior through intense communication to improve the organizational performance which is represented through customer acquisition, customer retention and increased customer loyalty. It can be defined as an activity that focuses on improving organizational efficiency and customer knowledge management by increasing the effectiveness of the company decisions related to customers (Soliman , 2011). It consists of technologies and processes used by an organization for relationship building with existing as well as potential customers with the objectives of increasing revenue and profitability through improved customer retention. It supports the business strategy of building long-term profitable relationship with customers (Ling & Yen, 2011) .
With the increasing use of social media, a lot of companies are using it as a medium to promote their products and get closer with customers. The companies are facilitating collaborative social experiences and dialogues the customers value through social media which is helping in creating positive image of the organization amongst the customers. But it is important to note that CRM using social media is not just about creating a web page. It is about creating a space where the customers can freely interact with the company, express their concerns, queries, positive experiences or dissatisfaction associated with the company and ensuring that their issues are addressed promptly. It will give customers the feeling that they are interacting with real people not the faceless companies.
Starbucks is one of the companies that is effectively using social media for CRM activities. It integrates, mixes and combines multi-channel functionalities with different focuses together with unified channels of communication. The official Facebook page of Starbucks has 37 million likes. If we go through the page, we can see that most of the post features the ideas and experiences of the customers visiting different outlets of Starbucks. Starbucks replies to almost every comments on its Facebook posts that has helped it to gain the confidence of customers. The use of Facebook for addressing the Starbucks Arrest is really commendable that has helped it in maintaining its image and reputation. There is also option for directly messaging the organization and the messages are replied very quickly. The YouTube channel of Starbucks has around two lakhs subscribers. The YouTube videos make the customers feel intimate and related to brand. They are engaging as well as communicating.
Another brand that is using social media for its benefit is Coca-Cola. It has 108 million likes on Facebook. The separate Facebook and twitter feeds for each of the local markets with dedicated pages for different products and sub-brands has helped it communicate it the people using this soft drink in 200 countries. On visiting the official pages of Coca-Cola, we can figure out that it responds to huge mentions everyday including complains, follow requests, compliments and general chit-chat. Lately, most of the posts were related with world cup that helps it connects with the customers even more. The page is being used for communication purpose rather than pushing marketing campaigns that is working well for the company.
Thus the need of today is use of social media for CRM as well as other activities of a company because the customers want easy and quick way to communicate with the brands whenever and wherever they want. But the social media of the company should be very responsive to obtain the CRM objectives.
References
Ling, R., & Yen, D. C. (2011). Customer Relationship Management: An Analysis Framework and Implementation Strategies. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 41 (3), 82-97. Retrieved from tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08...
Soliman , H. S. (2011, June). Customer Relationship Management and Its Relationship to the Marketing Performance. International Journal of Business and Social Sciences, 2 (10), 166-184.
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Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a method of understanding the customer behavior through intense communication to improve the organizational performance which is represented through customer acquisition, customer retention and increased customer loyalty. It can be defined as an activity that focuses on improving organizational efficiency and customer knowledge management by increasing the effectiveness of the company decisions related to customers (Soliman , 2011). It consists of technologies and processes used by an organization for relationship building with existing as well as potential customers with the objectives of increasing revenue and profitability through improved customer retention. It supports the business strategy of building long-term profitable relationship with customers (Ling & Yen, 2011) .
With the increasing use of social media, a lot of companies are using it as a medium to promote their products and get closer with customers. The companies are facilitating collaborative social experiences and dialogues the customers value through social media which is helping in creating positive image of the organization amongst the customers. But it is important to note that CRM using social media is not just about creating a web page. It is about creating a space where the customers can freely interact with the company, express their concerns, queries, positive experiences or dissatisfaction associated with the company and ensuring that their issues are addressed promptly. It will give customers the feeling that they are interacting with real people not the faceless companies.
Starbucks is one of the companies that is effectively using social media for CRM activities. It integrates, mixes and combines multi-channel functionalities with different focuses together with unified channels of communication. The official Facebook page of Starbucks has 37 million likes. If we go through the page, we can see that most of the post features the ideas and experiences of the customers visiting different outlets of Starbucks. Starbucks replies to almost every comments on its Facebook posts that has helped it to gain the confidence of customers. The use of Facebook for addressing the Starbucks Arrest is really commendable that has helped it in maintaining its image and reputation. There is also option for directly messaging the organization and the messages are replied very quickly. The YouTube channel of Starbucks has around two lakhs subscribers. The YouTube videos make the customers feel intimate and related to brand. They are engaging as well as communicating.
Another brand that is using social media for its benefit is Coca-Cola. It has 108 million likes on Facebook. The separate Facebook and twitter feeds for each of the local markets with dedicated pages for different products and sub-brands has helped it communicate it the people using this soft drink in 200 countries. On visiting the official pages of Coca-Cola, we can figure out that it responds to huge mentions everyday including complains, follow requests, compliments and general chit-chat. Lately, most of the posts were related with world cup that helps it connects with the customers even more. The page is being used for communication purpose rather than pushing marketing campaigns that is working well for the company.
Thus the need of today is use of social media for CRM as well as other activities of a company because the customers want easy and quick way to communicate with the brands whenever and wherever they want. But the social media of the company should be very responsive to obtain the CRM objectives.
References
Ling, R., & Yen, D. C. (2011). Customer Relationship Management: An Analysis Framework and Implementation Strategies. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 41 (3), 82-97. Retrieved from tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08...
Soliman , H. S. (2011, June). Customer Relationship Management and Its Relationship to the Marketing Performance. International Journal of Business and Social Sciences, 2 (10), 166-184.