Social Marketing a Social Force

The use of social media for marketing purposes has become a standard part of many companies' marketing strategies. This goes well beyond simply using social media like Facebook, LinkedIn and the others into a scene where sales automation software is incorporating social media characteristics and linkages. It has also extended into the incorporation of social media into CRM systems. So the whole corporate interface with customers and potential customers is taking on social media-like characteristics and methods. It's a massive change under way and one that will have an enduring impact on the whole field. For an article showing how specific recent mergers and acquisitions have revealed the nature of this movement, check out this link.

Social CRM - The Unstructured Data Problem

Customer Relationship Management has taken a new turn with the advent of social Media. There has been an increased awareness of the value of the extensive data being made available through Social Media in Managing Customer Relationships. The issue is that there needs to be a means of analyzing the data. Traditional CRM systems have been developed to enable the analysis of structured data. Tools for analyzing unstructured data have been scarce. But they are coming on to the market.

The firm Customer Relationship Metrics recently announced a new tool Text BI, which is designed to enable the advanced analysis of unstructured data. Essentially it incorporates a method for adding a structure to the data and then feeding it into its analytics tools. Analytics of this type are increasingly important for CRM and BI systems and we can expect to see more of them coming out. For a brief rundown on Text BI, check out this article.

Mobility and Corporate Internet Strategy

The advent of mobile units like tablets and smartphones is obvious to most people and widely heralded. Many companies, however, still don't get the full implications of this massive wave of innovation. The fact is, mobility is changing everything. While internet use has historically been primarily restricted to access through browsers, access through mobile units has been growing rapidly. Business has been aware of this and many have developed websites that can be adapted to the small screens of those mobile units. However, the mobility phenomenon goes a lot further than just the size and type of browser. The difference is in the apps.

Users love their apps, and seek them out for many things they do. Smart companies are developing apps that their customers can use to interact with their brand. Travel companies are making travel planning apps, gas companies are creating gas station finder apps, retail stores are creating product discount apps. There are apps for almost everything, and the list is growing.

Companies need to include in their internet strategy the idea of which apps they are going to have to help customers interact with their brand. The competition is doing it and eventually it will be a competitive necessity - eventually being not too far into the future.

To develop the strategy, the company needs to think of the ways they want their customers to interact with them and their product. This means stepping back and considering the whole situation with objectivity and creativity. Then a range of apps need to be developed and put into the hands of the customers, through web sites, blogs and social media. It's a diffferent approach, but one in tune with the times. Here's a good article on the subject.