Effective CRM

Some of you may have heard of the Social CRM Accidental Community if you’ve been following Social CRM. Most of us met on Twitter early last year using the hashtag #SCRM – and while it’s a challenge having a real conversation on Twitter, we somehow figured each other out. Since then, we’ve actually developed strong relationships with each other, ultimately meeting in Herndon, VA for the first Social CRM Summit (#scrmsummit).

It came to a point where we felt a need to move on from Twitter due to it’s inherent social weaknesses. Social relationships can’t be maintained in 140 character, unthreaded, sound bites.  So, we tried Google Wave.

Google Wave

I had high hopes for Google Wave. Unfortunately, it was too slow, some said it was too threaded (threading 2.0), some said it wasn’t threaded enough, real time group conversations were impossible to follow and it had no email notifications (that one has changed).

We barely gave this idea a few days before our group members began dropping like flies. The leader of this pack was crusty old Esteban Kolsky (Gen X). One of the leading proponents (me) was next (Gen X / Baby Boomer).  Was it our age? I mean, I remember black and white television. Maybe our brains just don’t work this way. So, it was time to move…

The AC Back Channel Finds a New Home With Skype

I can’t believe how long it took. Not to find Skype, but to get invited to the new back channel conversation happening on Skype. I didn’t even know Skype had groups even though I’ve been using it for IM for a few years. Us old farts just don’t pay attention.

Suddenly, as the rest of the community got on Skype and added to the group, we began having high speed conversations (CRM at the Speed of Light?). These were real time. They were happening with group members from all over the world. And no matter what time of day, you were likely to see a pencil race, as we began calling it. It was fun. It still is fun. We’re actually getting to know each other here – which made meeting face to face very easy.

The other great thing about Skype is that we could/can have group video conference calls, or video one on ones. To me, growing up with rotary phones, that’s pretty cool. I’ve been hanging out in BBS’s, forums, communities and IM for nearly 25 years and finally we have something the Jetsons had (yea, I watched that in first run).

The Next Evolution of the Accidental Community

The back channel is great – for us. However, we’re looking for ways to get back in front of the world to move the CRM and Social CRM conversation forward. As it stands, we’re all doing our own thing and then coming back to the back channel to hash out our thoughts and ideas – and sometimes just to have fun, since we’re all becoming good friends.

So, we’ve begun looking for the perfect way to do this as a non-enterprise enterprise. There are solutions out there that do the enterprise stuff, social blog consolidation sites (I don’t know what they’re called and I don’t do research), domain-based business social suites like Social Text and Yammer and the list goes on. We’re not finding what we need yet. So, instead of bashing tools that others may find valuable, I’m going to begin a list of things we seem to be looking for as the Social CRM Accidental Community.

1. We want a group IM (or micro blogging interface that works) interface that is private and only for the core members of the SCRM group. It has to handle our real time conversation needs. It should also handle threading. Threaded context can not be an inhibitor as it is in most solutions we’ve tested to date. We’re looking for the ultimate real time group chat. One that lets us follow the conversation in real time without hopping around (enter key must post the message!)
2. We want to extend this capability out to the public either through a public micro blogging interface, or the ability to publicize certain threads. Many of us are not thrilled by how difficult it is to find one that is easy to follow (like Skype).
3. We all blog. And while we intend to remain independent, we would like a place to aggregate the blogs of core members as well as do some article or blog collaborations.
4. We need a place to work on projects in small groups, or as a whole group
5. We need the ability to search all content
6. It has to extend to portable devices like the Blackberry, iPhone and Android.
7. I should have a full featured Windows (or Air) client for those of us with an aversion to web applications
8. If there is a workable threaded feature, the ability to open multiple threads in separate windows (web or Windows).
9. The ability to brand a public presence on the web.
10. The ability to broadcast messages not only within the application, but to sources like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc. TweetDeck and others can do it, so what’s the big deal.
11. We need to know when other community members are online, both private members and the public members.
12. We need to be able to create Accounts using whatever email address we choose (not domain based!)
13. It has to cater to what this group is, not for profit.

So far, there is a somewhat general agreement that the solutions we’ve seen to date fail in at least one major way (for this group). I’m not sure what that says for Enterprise 2.0, but it is what it is for the Social CRM Accidental Community 2.0. I’m sure other members will keep the world up to date on our search for the ultimate platform, or expand on this list of requirements.

I just got done reading through Altimeter’s new paper entitled Social CRM: The New Rules of Relationship Management. While there is little to argue with regarding Altimeter’s report on the 18 use cases of Social CRM, there are some statements that I feel could have been worded differently – or simply left out. I also feel it could have buit a 5M chart that includes more traditional uses cases (even ones most business don’t do well), and how the two aspects of customer engagement relate to each other (traditional and social). The bottom line is…

• Yet, at the end of the CustomerThink post, Ray Wang lets you know they are ready to help you design a Social CRM strategy. What if the company doesn’t have a CRM strategy yet? Are we going to apply social tools to inside-out organizations and hope for the best?
• This doesn’t analyze the relationship. It only analyzes the aggregate of sentiment (maybe some ideas) at a point in time (good, bad or ugly)
• A relationship is still 1:1. If the ultimate goal of a customer-centric business is to understand customers needs (not project the needs on the customer), then social media will tell them little. Why? A vocal minority may not be statistically valid (not every customer is social) – nor will they represent real needs of the overall customer base. And, the company doesn’t really have the ability to use an open-ended, iterative interviewing process to uncover the true needs – things that they may not know individually, or even collectively in a social community.
• Reading the social channels is like reading the wind. It reflects what’s happening right now, and right now and now and now and now. Can you really call something strategic when it’s going to be used to react right now?  Sure, you can say you’re making a strategic change…right up until NOW when the next set of sentiment comes in. Real relationships carry history and can also discuss the future. The strategy is the framework for reacting to information you glean from tactical pieces of the strategy.

Social CRM programs may start at the departmental level, but over time, must gain corporate buy in to transcend functional fiefdoms in sales, marketing service, etc.

• SFA started at the departmental level and CRM took over, remaining at the departmental level – especially in middle market companies. Starting here makes little sense. Cultural change is required and it starts at the top. Always.
• It’s easy to penetrate the department, which is what software vendors, resellers, consultants and evangelists have known for ages. This is the easy way out, and delivers the least value. A cultural change leveraged across an entire organization is what really delivers value to the customer, and to the shareholder. This should be emphasized, even though more companies will take the easy path – let’s not help them, though.
• Why tell us “Get Value: Adopt the 18 Social CRM Use Cases?” I mean, if it typically starts at the departmental level, why then argue that all 18 need to be adopted? This sounds a lot like tools to support a corporate-wide customer centered strategy – without the customer-centered part, or with the other 90% of CRM.

Tech Maturity

If the underlying value driver for CRM (or business)  is customer-centricity, then shouldn’t cultural maturity on this point by tied to Market Demand? Whether we’re talking about Tech Maturity of a business, or Tech Maturity of a <ahem> Social CRM solution, why are we returning to technology as a driver when we’ve learned, clearly, the cultural evolution toward customer-centricity is a key piece of the puzzle – and that tech focus has often failed us (no offense vendors – us consultants are to blame too).

Tie back social world and channels to existing innovation, marketing, sales, support and service processes. Triage profiles to create prioritization frameworks.

• A better way might be to not start at the tactical level and then fit it into a series of other tactical, silo’d processes and then call it a strategy. Maybe it was just the way I read this, but seems very backwards to me.

Organizational friction, customer experience and customer advocacy do not require "Social” CRM. Sure, advocacy is easier in an online community, but #SCRM can’t lay claim as the only, or even the best, way of creating advocacy. Let’s face it, social solutions are unproven in many ways – time being one of them. But, advocates have been around, outside-in process consultants have been removing friction for a long time and companies have been designing great customer experiences – all without the social piece. The failure has been the tendency to rely on technology first and unfortunately, this is still fairly prevalent.

Complement existing CRM processes.

• I just can’t get past the customer-centric strategy part, I guess. Shouldn’t this really be expanding, enhancing or evolving the CRM strategy with social engagement? Processes are support of strategies and technology is supportive of process. The process is not creating substantial customer value, it’s more operational in nature. The value has to be driven from a higher strategy- within which you will find social aspects.

In Closing

My common theme is customer-centricity and designing CRM strategies around this sort of cultural change. Core to this is defining a methodology for understanding customer needs. Certainly, companies that have well known brands should incorporate social tools to protect their brand as well as empower their customers (to some degree – after all, it’s still a business). But let’s face it, do lesser known brands really have enough chatter to worry? I don’t know the answer to that. My middle market customers have never really identified this as a problem, and isn’t this where most of the businesses are?

What I like about this paper is that it does a great job of taking what have been complex, theoretical concepts and putting them into a readable format. Each of us participating in this space are being social. There are conversations being attempted (and failing IMHO) on Twitter, there are social communities cropping up where many of us are able to write lengthier posts to move the topic forward, and there are also back channel group (and individual – NO!) conversations going on related to Social CRM. It’s time that we begin building public digests that people will actually read. Real people – not just us. This is a good step in that direction.

The next step, I feel, is for someone to simply describe a complete customer-centric culture which drives CRM strategy, process and technology – each level addressing the need for, and execution of strategy or tactics for embracing the social customer – if even required

“Sure, we’re customer-centric”, I hear you saying. “Now, this new social stuff…how can we use it to promote our products?”

One of the big dangers, each time a new term is introduced to the world, is the “latching on” that takes place. People and companies latched onto the term CRM and sucked it dry until it really had no meaning left – and it had been commoditized. The term SCRM is also in grave danger – already. While it has been clearly defined (and a stake put in the ground), social media gurus and consultancies are trying to lay claim to a concept that has little or no cross-over into their specific skills and experience. Sorry for being blunt, but it has to be said (repeatedly).

Whether you like the term Customer Relationship Management or not, the underlying concept is important to understand before you start running out the door waving your CRM or SCRM flag for the world to see. Nothing against software vendors (including social media solutions), but they do it. I get why they do. But when social media consultants do it, I have to draw a line. CRM is about changing business cultures to focus on customer needs and design experiences that add value and reduce friction. The process derived from these strategic changes is supported by both people and technology. Somehow, we allowed the term to be tightly associated with the technology.

I think we’re prepared to fight this battle on the SCRM front. The social extension to CRM is really a means to expand something customer-centric businesses already do – listen to their customers, understand their needs and adapt to fulfill them in a way that creates value. SCRM has more roots in technology, yes. But, it doesn’t change what we’re really talking about here. So, if we’ve already licked this software is the solution problem – after a decade of death spiral – what is the new danger we’re facing?

Enter the Social Media Consultant

Social media is media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media uses Internet and web-based technologies to transform broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many). ~Wikipedia

The next time a social media consultant tells you that you can’t run your business without social just keep in mind that the only tool in their arsenal is social media. You can’t just plug in a piece of technology and transform your business.  Read the definition above- written, no doubt, by a social media person.

At first glance, this appears to be a definition for a new SPAM channel. But then it moves on to many-to-many, so maybe that’s a little bit harsh.  I have this bad habit of assuming that certain types of people believe if you make something (like an email) look pretty enough, it’s effective – and not spam. Unfortunately, too many graphic designers have taken over marketing departments – it’s all about touchy feely with them. But do they really understand customer relationships?

Darren Roanoke: How can you be the Love Guru if you’ve never been in a relationship?
Guru Pitka: Well, there is someone I like. But until I learn to love myself, I can only go out with three girls named Ann.
Darren Roanoke: Three girls named Ann?
Guru Pitka: Yeah. Ann Visible, Ann Flatable, and Ann Job.

Let’s be frank, social media gurus are popping up all over the Internet and also in your local business clubs (maybe your board rooms) – trying to use the momentum of SCRM to jump start their consultancies. Maybe they actually believe this is a new market, and that this market will transform a business by simply adopting solutions in their arsenal. And let’s be honest, these solutions didn’t transform any businesses to customer-centric, or improve the customer experience, before the term SCRM, so why would we believe it to be the case now? Where’s the track record to back it up?

Don’t get me wrong, I would never pretend to be an expert in social media. If it becomes a component in a CRM strategy I’m working with, then I will bring an expert in soc med onto my project team. But, what I won’t do is come on board a project that started with a social solution and tries to work itself backwards to a comprehensive customer-centric business strategy. Or worse, it never even attempts to work backwards as it’s seen as the complete solution. In these cases, businesses will simply leverage the solution more and more until it’s simply abused. Gotta get results, right?

Sounds too much like the good old days of CRM failures. Leave CRM to the CRM people, even if there’s an “S” on the front. We’ve been there and done that.. Mariska Hargitay everybody!

For those of you who are not CRM thought leaders, academics or social media companies trying to invade the CRM space, I’d like to hit the reset button and explain a few things – hopefully in terms that the average business person (who’s creating value) can understand.  I’m am not a thought leader, or a big thinker, so I’ve had to burn some brain calories on this one to get the conversation back on track.

Business is business is business is business is business. Smart businesses have always known that a great customer experience is the best value driver. And delivering that kind of experience comes from knowing your customer’s needs.  The companies that are able to determine customer needs (and here’s a great paper on the subject I got from @GrahamHill) are in the best position innovate and grow.

To be a customer-centric business, you have to ask questions, listen, adapt and execute based on what you learn from your customers’ changing needs. As soon as you begin assuming you know what they need, or misinterpret what they’re telling you, you will be at the mercy of competitors that get it. This is nothing new. Slapping Social or Co in front of existing terms will never change that. It simply muddies a message that is simple and powerful – deliver value to your customer in a way that delivers value back to you.

If you don’t get that, then all the terms, definitions and new social software tools will simply accelerate your demise or weaken your competitive position – in my opinion

Confusion # 1: Social CRM is the Replacement For CRM

Sure, no one is happy with where CRM went. It fell right into the arms of the software vendors -  oh so many years ago. But, forward thinking evangelists like Paul Greenberg have done a lot to shift that momentum. He, and others, were talking about customer-centric business strategy (as CRM) a long time ago. To them, CRM was not a platform, it was a program – the difference being that the platform is technology designed to support the program – e.g. an initiative.

As new avenues have been created on the Internet for customers to take some control back from inside-out thinking companies, a shrill cry is in the air that the new Social CRM will replace CRM as both a strategy and a platform. People – listen up. I understand why everyone is excited. But really, assuming that this social stuff is going to magically change inside-out business cultures to outside-in? That’s just not going to happen! What will really happen is something akin to what happened when unscrupulous marketers realized how cheap email delivery was.

It’s also what happened when CRM vendors told you their software had best practices built into it. Just install it and your wildest dreams will come true (taken from Napoleon Dynamite without permission)

We need to realize the CRM 2.0 (social) is a new version with some new pieces – both as a business strategy and ultimately as software (it ain’t there yet). You will not understand the needs of your customer simply using social tools no matter how many times a social media evangelist says it. If you’re not already having direct conversations with your customers (interviews, surveys, golf outings, happy hour, whatever) then bolting on this social stuff will just frustrate you in the long run – maybe even the short run,

But, this does give us a great opportunity to go back to our clients and help them see the benefits of customer-centricity. If we start talking about social this and social that, they could very well just run away. Let’s take this back to basics please. And software vendors, please understand that we will sell your software, we’re just going to to do things in the proper order, so step back and enjoy the ride!

Confusion # 2: “Value” is Now Co-Creation of Value (In Use rather than In Exchange)

OK. You lost me when you added the “Co” on the front. I didn’t bother listening to “creation” or “in use” etc etc. Seriously, what the heck does this mean?! What is this discussion all about? The best definition I’ve seen to date was in Paul Greenberg’s new book (CRM at the Speed of Light 4th Edition) where he simply gave an example of the game Doom. I don’t have time to tell the story here. Read the book, it’s excellent!

When we start debating at which point value exists defeats the purpose of nearly everything (for me, maybe not you). When I sell something to someone, assuming I’ve met their needs (and exceeded their expectations), I’ve created value and I’ve received compensation for it. Maybe you depreciate the value as you use it (if it wears out – like a car), but I started with value and I continue to have value as long as I can put it to use. Suggesting that value is “co-created” by the consumer as they use it is a waste of time (in what I do). I don’t even understand that. I made it after all (the car) so they are not creating value, I AM! They are deriving value from it – for certain. Does the “co” mean that I helped create value? How, I’m not driving the car with them?!?

If you’ve listened well, you will increase customer value by delivering value (not just when they use it, when they salivate for it) to your customer. In turn you will see your shareholder value increase. Simple.

Anyway, this topic keeps coming up in the conversations around customer experience and CRM (and Social CRM) and simply frustrates me that we have to get so granular with a piece of the CRM pie when overall, most businesses don’t have the culture to give hoot about it. So, let’s focus on the fundamentals of outside-in thinking and cultural change. If things get going really good for your business and you have lot’s of free time, invent a board game called “Redefining Words For Family Fun Time.”  It’s perfect for late evening entertainment – especially when you’ve been drinking.

What This Post Is Not About

1. This post is not bashing Social CRM (although I still like CRM 2.0 because it’s next next version of CRM with new features). In fact, I agree that while our customers expectations have always needed to be well understood, and exceeded, they have much more control over the way they buy now, and how they decide to buy as well. That doesn’t change the fundamentals in any way shape or form. It’s a facet of the customer ecosystem that any business that listens and adapts has probably been dealing with for some time now.  Revelation: your customers talk about you behind your back, and now they have megaphones. Deal with it.
2. It’s not about bashing the discussion of value. Value is key. It’s one thing we should be measuring instead of actual sales vs. quota by month,  The question is what we’re measuring. Sure, value is created along the entire (value) chain. But we need deal with this in terms that Barney Fife would understand.  Let’s not cloud the real customer-centric mission here.

I believe all businesses will have to embrace some realities of the social customer going forward. Some more than others. It depends on your customers, after all, and that’s really what CRM has always been about.

I’m sure I got this all wrong, so please set me straight by continuing the conversation below.  Otherwise, just tell me how awesome I am. If too many people give me a thumbs down, I will have to turn my rating system off. Transparency in action folks.

As with most things in life, that little secret you knew (and didn’t tell your friends) gets “outed” because something changed. Suddenly, your competitive advantage is exposed to the world – and then Paul Greenberg has to go write a book about it. What changed? Well, the customer, of course! But while exposing this little gem something that many businesses had used as as competitive advantage was revealed – customer-centricity.

There are at least three types of business cultures out there.

This list could go on forever, but I’m making a point here —

1. Passive Inside-out culture – competitive because they dominate a niche. Don’t know if and when a competitor will out-innovate them and don’t really think about it. They are focused on delivering the product that got them there and not much else.
2. Aggressive Inside-out culture – when email came they abused it thinking the numbers would simply work in their favor. The have a product to sell, and they want you to know about – when you open your inbox, during dinner hour – they expose us to their product at the most inconvenient and uninvited times.
3. Dynamic Outside-in culture – Always listening to their customers through any channel available; learning and adapting their offerings along the way – focused on creating value for their customers and keeping them loyal. Knowing when their customers want to hear from them and how they want to be communicated with. Key difference – they listen before they act which makes the act more impactful for their business.

We’ve always had customer-centric businesses and there is evidence to suggest those that focus on customer experience outperform their peers. But should these businesses fear the gradual change to the social customer and the sudden emergence of new channels and tools (monitoring and delivery)?

Has Spam Found a New Home?

Beyond the basic attempt to explain what a social / customer-centric business is, there is suddenly a lot of noise about social media. Twitter. MySpace, Facebook, FriendFeed – the list goes on – are all confusing the issue and making it difficult for people like me to provide the proper focus to my clients. As with CRM, they think these technology channels are going to solve their customer problems.

Heck, I know at least one (there are more) so-called Social CRM evangelist that is using these technologies improperly for personal branding, so shouldn’t we expect that the get rich quick mentality in many businesses will take over and do the same – essentially spamming us all on Twitter and Facebook? Between you and me, it’s already begun. I’ve been experimenting lately with Twitter following and it’s scary how many people I follow send me a direct message with a link embedded in it. Obviously, they are trying to sell me something. These are worthless relationships, Enough said.

Don’t let companies that behave this way convince you they are the customer-centric model just because they use tools classified as social. Nothing social about them. If you are customer-centric and engage your customers the way you’ve learned from listening, you have nothing to fear just because there is a new QVC type channel in the ether. Your customers probably aren’t listening to it.

I’m confident there are more customer-focused business cultures out there today (thanks to guys like Paul Greenberg), and that we are a step ahead of the fiasco that was the migration from Sales Force Automation to Customer Relationship Management – one where software companies were able to hijack terms and obfuscate the potential value-creation that could have been realized by more companies.

I know from first hand experience that there is a better-prepared army of consultants, writers and thought leaders out there ready to do battle with their inside-out thinking foes. Many of us had the privilege, after meeting and bonding through social media channels and stumbling into the SCRM Accidental Community, to meet at the first ever Social CRM Summit (#scrmsummit on Twitter) in Herndon, VA this past week – hosted by BPT Partners and thought leader Paul Greenberg.  I was lucky enough to be one of the attendees.

If you’d like to learn more about it, here’s a post from my colleague Brian Vellmure with some of the things we learned. Fortunately, many of us knew and were sold on this before arriving – and are well on our way to achieving the successful customer outcomes of outside-in thinking.

Thanks for bringing it all together Paul! I’ve done enough rambling for one post

Since becoming a reborn CRM consultant – at least how I think about CRM – I’ve always tried to look at a business and figure out where they were, evolution-wise, on the path to true customer-centricity.  Placing a business on this simple linear chart makes it easy to understand the work that needs to be done, and it paints a simple picture for your customer.

1. You never even think about your customers
2. You realize that maybe products aren’t everything
3. You realize that customers are everything
4. You realize that your customers deserve more value
5. Your have everything you need to deliver what your customers really need, and you can even shape their behavior

Customer-centric companies have always gotten it. They’ve gone through this, or a similar evolutionary (or maturity) process. But you will stumble upon companies that are at varying stages of this process. Actually, some may think they are standing erect, because the own CRM software, but are actually still dragging their knuckles.

Then Everything Has To Go And Change

We’ve all been so focused on the exciting changes in technology and communication media that many of us have missed the fact that our customers are changing at the same rate as technology. They’ve become social.

OK, the cavemen were social too. Actually, I believe that we’ve come full circle because in the days of small communities and no high-speed travel, you lived among the customers. So business itself hasn’t evolved, it’s revolved. But a specific business is fully capable of having a knuckle dragging cave-like (think cubicle) culture where nothing is important outside your own four corners. You leave to hunt for your prey, and return to the safety of the cave.

Of course, with Raquel Welch there, it’s a great place to come back to, right?

If I’m going to attempt to show a business the path to customer-centricity and social engagement, an elaborate Visio chart may confuse them more often than not. Personally, I haven’t worked with anyone that didn’t glaze over when one of those went up on the screen. In fact, I’ve seen prospects and customers nearly revolt when a complex series bars, triangles, zooming clouds and exploding pie charts jammed onto a single screen – all in an attempt to explain a simple concept.

Maybe everyone in large enterprises need to congratulate each other for their ability to confuse and obfuscate a concept; so no one stands up and challenges what they see. Are they trying to look smart for their clients?

Sure, it may be accurate, but is it effective? I’ll leave that to each of you to figure out. Meanwhile, I will continue along in my simple-minded ways, painting easy to understand pictures and using analogies that my simple-minded customer base (just kidding) can actually use it to their benefit.

I’ve been hosting my websites with an awesome company called Sitesell since 2001, and there’s a reason. First, I’ve always blown my competition away in the niche content sites that I’ve built. Second, they are not a Get Rich Quick type of business and supply a business building plan along with tools that would otherwise costs thousands of dollars a year. Lastly, they have a huge and involved user community. I know my product review sites are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the next few years and have a few friends that have already proven that.

My CRM website is another thing altogether. This site revolves around my career and chosen profession. When I began building it, I used the same tried and true template I’ve used with other sites, and still use in my newer sites. A lot of research and planning goes into it’s structure, keyword selection, link partners and monetization. Unfortunately, I’ve become distracted by a new concept in the CRM world called social. Sure, CRM is still CRM, and there is much to be written about functional CRM, but I’m not able to stay as focused on that these days. So, I made the decision to add a traditional blog which allows me to keep my content site on target, and allows me to wander anywhere I want on my blog.

Sitesell versus Blogging

So the question was should I keep building my website or start blogging. In this case, I want to do both. Hands down, if I build a website properly with Site Build It!, I will ultimately dominate the search engines for the terms I have selected. In order to do that, a lot of content has to be written, and that takes a ton of my time (and that doesn’t include link building). Blogging, that’s much easier although I’m still not inspired to write regularly but I’m trying to change that. The thing about my website is that there are still a lot of people out there searching the web for answers as it pertains CRM. Some are searching for software, others are searching for things about customer service. All of these searchers provide me with an opportunity to redirect them to a more strategic way of thinking about CRM.

On the other hand, I see blogging as self-promoting. That’s the only explanation I can come up with. Sure, my CRM site is that to some extent, but it really began as my forced journey from traditional software focused consulting to customer-centric strategic CRM. Just doing it has helped me move forward. Part of moving forward is taking the time to do this blog, though.  Here’s why…the people I follow and respect need a more efficient means of establishing a dialog with me, if they so choose. Unfortunately, SBI’s Content 2.0 feature, which is great for product reviews, is not so great for discussion purposes. And I’ve found that the newer concepts like Social CRM are still being developed and require a great deal of discussion and debate.

Listening to my Customer

In this case, my customer is my visitor, my reader.  Unlike most of my websites, the followers of my blog postings, at least some of them, are well-known in the industry. I want these people to dialog with me at the source of the topic, my blog. Doing it via Twitter and Skype is an interesting new experience, but it’s not always open to the public, and at least part of my purpose is educating lurkers. These followers have hesitated to do this because of issues they perceived with the vehicle that Site Build It! provides. I’m listening to my customers and making this slight change to accommodate them.

An Otherwise Cutting Edge Company

Sitesell is always talking about over delivering. They do it, and they want us to do it as well.  But sometimes you can get yourself in a technical pinch. I’m not sure, maybe with such a clever idea (Content 2.0) for their customers they forgot their customers customers. I find CRM companies do that a lot too. For content oriented websites, which is really what drives the web, this feature of allowing visitors to create their own properly interlinked web page, with its own commenting feature, is something that blows the competition away. In my case, it’s blowing my potential contributors away (not in the good sense), which in turn means other visitors won’t benefit from their input.

I’ve posted my thoughts, and suggestions from the Social CRM Accidental Community to the Sitesell Forums. Hopefully, they see where I’m coming from and can take at least a few of the suggestions I’ve made and improve the user (website visitor) experience dramatically. Eliminate some clicks, remember visitors and get a dialog flowing.