Cognizant CRM Insights

Joining the Conversation: Charting Your Social CRM Strategy

By Christina Pruitt
Until very recently, organizations were doing well if they created rich and engaging customer experiences, based on what customers revealed about their needs and preferences. Now, with the explosion in social media, networking and microblogging on sites such as Facebook and Twitter, product review portals and discussion forums, organizations have to go further. They must listen to what customers are saying (in reality, as well as online), engage where appropriate and seek to influence the conversation where necessary. This means social media must Wise companies learn very be added to the ever-evolving early on they must avoid CRM mix, creating an the appearance of trying to integrated Social CRM (SCRM) strategy. By some estimates, people are three times more likely to trust a peer over company-provided content from Web sites, brochures or advertisements. Most people share product and service recommendations at least every few months and many do so much more often. Not surprisingly, this has an enormous impact on sales. Consumers have taken charge of their own destinies and are making their voices heard. The challenge is to turn social media into a positive force for your company. The benefits are certainly there for the taking. For example, businesses are connecting with customer communities -- or building their own -to gain better insights into customer behaviors and monitor their reactions to business events. Organizations are using customer communities to support market research and product development; accelerate the distribution of marketing messages; and develop deeper insights about individuals and accounts for use by the sales force. Companies are also promoting online customer self-service to drive down support costs, while also potentially increasing customer satisfaction. Many companies lack a coherent social media strategy because they fear consumer- and customer-driven content is an ungovernable force. And to a large degree, that is true. So-

directly control perception. But if you bring value to the conversation, consumers will welcome your participation.

The power of social media cannot be overstated. Peer-topeer social media conversations are influencing decisions made by consumers of all ages -- and that reality is here to stay. Due to their immediacy and volume, social media exchanges are amplified and impact the entire business ecosystem. It is axiomatic that social media are vastly reducing the influence of traditional media. But they are also transforming business in general, particularly the way people and businesses buy things.

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called Web 2.0 technologies give individuals unprecedented power to be their own publishers and critics. Wise companies learn very early on they must avoid the appearance of trying to directly control perception. But if you bring value to the conversation, consumers will welcome your participation.

actually has the opposite of the desired effect. These tools search the gamut of social media and sites, looking for specific user-identified tags and returning consumer opinion data so you can evaluate if, how and when you should respond. React: Once you have a sense of your customers overall sentiments, you need to engage them in their preferred online settings and formats. Then, use their feedback to enhance both your most valuable customer relationships (with your CRM system) and your product offerings (within your product lifecycle manageTo get started with SCRM, ment system).

Harnessing Social Media

There are five primary components to social networking and the use of social media: 1. Listen 2. Evaluate 3. Analyze 4. React 5. Monitor Listen: Social media and networking sites are an endless source of information about consumers views on your company and products -- the good, the bad and the ugly. Your first task is to make sense of what is being said (and by whom). At a high level, this involves searching for your company, brand or campaign names, either manually or using an automated tool, such as Lithium and our own Sentiment Analyzer. You will need to determine if there are any existing communities that discuss your brand and, if so, begin reading to understand the gist of public opinion. Generally, only your most ardent champions and strident detractors will be the ones posting about your company. For most companies, just because you are beloved on one site does not mean youre not hated on another. Evaluate and Analyze: You need to sift and sort the various viewpoints (from most major social networking sites and possibly global/regional sites) and analyze them against existing data from your CRM system across all customer touchpoints and channels, with the goal of understanding why consumers feel the way they do (good or bad), as opposed to just keeping track. As with the need to maintain customer relationships, the job of monitoring online consumers opinions does not end. Using a tool is an efficient way to keep up with developments that need your attention. Enterprise-class software like Lithium can also make inferences you would not otherwise have spotted, for example, that your customer loyalty program

you need to determine

Monitor: The interaction where your customers continues even after you have followed through communicate online and with listening, evaluating, what they are saying about analyzing and reacting; you your brand. also need to continuously monitor the conversation. In fact, monitoring is a cornerstone of SCRM. Social media never sleep, and you must not grow lax in the amount of attention you pay. Additional uses: If you do it properly, the effort you spend on SCRM is well-rewarded. Social media can also be a powerful source of inspiration. You can use crowdsource ideation, for example, to arrive at new product ideas that are more tailored to your customers actual needs than traditional R&D methods would yield. Here, Social media and you invite your community of networking sites are an interest to submit specific product ideas, usually in endless source of information exchange for the chance to about consumers views on win a prize. your company and products You can encourage interactivity by allowing visitors and par- and the ugly. ticipants to vote on their favorite entries. Using this method, you can quickly, easily and cost-effectively discover what your brands most passionate advocates are thinking -- and what they want from you. Your company cant and wont implement all the ideas, of course, but you can retain the ideas to use in other ways. When considering how much marketing power is inherently contained within social networking sites, you should think about the full range of content sources and insights:

-- the good, the bad

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Community interaction and collaboration

> Ideas/forums/blogs > Social sites > Sentiment analysis > Perception management > Sales leads > Service opportunities > Customer satisfaction-related opportunities > Collaboration > Prospect and opportunity analysis > Brand analysis > Web analysis
I

about your brand -- and your competitors -- and help you prepare new product launches. Providing service directly through this site can also significantly reduce your customer support costs.

SCRM in Action
Companies across all industries are putting social media to work to forge stronger bonds with customers. In healthcare, for example, hospitals and other organizations are using social media programs through a variety of channels to drive interest in service lines, increase brand awareness, disseminate job opportunities and identify new fundraising opportunities. Pharmaceutical companies have created drug- or disease-oriented communities in which patients share information with other patients and celebrate successes. Drug companies may also participate in -- or even sponsor -- non-brandcentric patient communities, using that experience as a rich source of patient information. Pharmaceutical companies are broadcasting real-time news related to drug trials and FDA approvals via sites like Twitter, giving layperson followers a sense of unprecedented access. In the financial services sector, banks that are more active in engaging with their customers over social media channels are demonstrably more helpful in addressing customers problems in more traditional channels. In line with customer demands, many large consumerbanking institutions have grown comfortable interacting with consumers over sites like Twitter, despite the need to address security issues. For instance, they continue an exchange using direct messages and more secure channels to prevent disclosure of sensitive material. Banks that are using social media to brand themselves or to market a specific product or service have found success by adding social tools into existing campaigns. Progressive banks are using YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, iTunes, blogs and the like to educate young consumers on basic money management. For example, they encourage them to maximize the interest earned on the funds in their bank accounts via innovative social media marketing campaigns.

Branding

> Competitive intelligence/market needs > Prepare launches/market introductions > Viral marketing/runaway word of
mouth/evangelism

Getting Started
To get started with SCRM, you need to determine where your customers communicate online and what they are saying about There are distinct your brand. Automated tools advantages to building (ranging from freeware like Google Alerts and Trendrr, to a brand community, enterprise solutions like a space for like-minded Lithium) can be useful in individuals to interact. helping you quickly understand the online buzz about your product and brand. If your customers are experiencing adverse service issues, they are likely discussing them with others online. You need to know that so you can address the problem and prevent more negative publicity. You may be missing an opportunity to cultivate a positive image by being proactive and superresponsive to customer needs. At the other end of the spectrum, your brands most passionate advocates are out there sharing the love. You should open a dialog, express your appreciation and then look to create opportunities to help them sell your product or service -something many brand-faithful will be more than happy to do. There are distinct advantages to building a brand community, a space for likeminded individuals to interact. This group can give you better insights and immediate feedback

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Challenges remain, even after getting a handle on what your customers are saying about you. For one thing, the need to monitor the conversation never ends. For another, companies do not -- and cannot -- directly steer public opinion. People will say unfair things sometimes, and it can be difficult to resist the temptation to jump in and start controlling the situation. If you do that, though, you are setting your company up to worsen, rather than manage, the firestorm. Abandon any notion of control before you begin planning your SCRM strategy in earnest.

Social CRM is a complement to an effective CRM and customer experience management strategy. Used thoughtfully, SCRM goes beyond traditional CRM to build meaningful social relationships. It can also be used to generate awareness for your brand and to establish a two-way feedback mechanism as a tool for strengthening your customer relationships. Our ability to build these qualitatively different relationships is limited only by human capacity and technology capability. Social relationships are enhanced because of the personal information one can capture online yielding deeper insight into consumers minds, hearts and wallets.

About the Author

Christina Pruitt is Cognizant's Director of CRM Strategic Consulting. She has 25 years of experience in the CRM space. Christina can be reached at Christina.Pruitt@cognizant.com.

About Cognizant
Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a leading provider of information technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing services. Cognizant's single-minded passion is to dedicate our global technology and innovation know-how, our industry expertise and worldwide resources to working together with clients to make their businesses stronger. With over 50 global delivery centers and more than 68,000 employees as of September 30, 2009, we combine a unique onsite/offshore delivery model infused by a distinct culture of customer satisfaction. A member of the NASDAQ-100 Index and S&P 500 Index, Cognizant is a Forbes Global 2000 company and a member of the Fortune 1000 and is ranked among the top information technology companies in BusinessWeek's Hot Growth and Top 50 Performers listings.

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