CRM service providers are beginning to realize the value of social networking and are beginning to integrate similar features into their services.
With the popularity of social networking mechanisms and websites continuing to grow, more and more businesses are adapting their service offerings to include features that are linked into common social networking websites / platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and the like. Some are even developing their own features that mimic social networking functions applied specifically for their own customer base – and many are doing both.
CRM, or customer relationship management, services especially are seeing the vast potential of tapping into the social networking phenomenon. With the goal of CRMs being to establish and nurture a company’s relationship with both existing and potential clients, it is only logical for such service providers to use a platform that boasts billions of interactions daily.
Microsoft CRM, for example, has integrated third-party applications such as social media accelerators, social network developers, and the like that enable businesses to develop and use social media platforms, both internal and external, for their own purposes and strategies.
Using social networking – both through developing their own apps and / or integrating with existing ones – CRMs are able to get a better and bigger sense of current and possible client bases. Interaction goes much faster, is much more real-time and genuine, and feedback is easier to gather.
Small and medium-sized businesses are especially benefitting from these developments, since their client bases are much smaller and thus much easier to manage and keep track of through the social networking medium.
