Posts Tagged ‘Customer’

The core of social media is content. This is why there needs to be an effective content strategy. Brands need to provide their followers and prospective customers with content that provides meaningful interactions and incentives if they are to attract and keep the attention of the social customer.

It is necessary to create and distribute content that helps to attract, engage and acquire prospects and that is effective in bringing about profitable customer behaviour.

Creating effective and relevant content

Creating value
Social media content has to be relevant to be effective. All customers have questions and when the basis for generating content is to help your customers and prospects answer their questions and solve their problems, it becomes an excellent way of providing value.

So find out what problems your customers and prospects may be having that is related to your industry and market and begin to solve these in the social media content you provide.

Creating consistency and authenticity
Credibility can be achieved when a company adopts integrated social media across relevant social channels and consistently offers relevant and valuable content as opposed to just bombarding the audience with sales propaganda.

Consistency of message content and chosen way of communication enhances authenticity. The brand can thus be trusted.

Targeted Content
You should create valuable content targeted at your particular audience. Your content should resonate with your customers and prospects that you want to attract, engage and acquire.

Different thinking styles and preferences for consuming media should be considered. For example, some people may like images or videos and others may prefer texts. All these can also be combined to provide meaningful interactions and rich customer experiences.

Calls to action
Calls to action such as to subscribe, or register for an e-newsletter will encourage future participation and enhance engagement. This will eventually help to achieve the ultimate goal of bringing about profitable customer behaviour such as in placing an order.

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Proxama was at TFM&A 2015 to showcase Mobile Proximity Marketing

Proxama was at TFM&A 2015 to showcase Mobile Proximity Marketing

Mobile Proximity Marketing, as redefined by Proxama, delivers targeted campaigns matched to the context, location, behaviour and profile of the customer, increasing dynamic connections with consumers and ultimately, loyalty and sales.

Proxama was at TFM&A 2015 with their latest project to showcase how these new technologies work and how they can be maximised to increase consumer engagement and measurable returns. With the help of Loka, Proxama’s new app, Beacon notifications deliver special offers and information to consumers’ smartphones when they are nearby, perhaps while they are shopping on the high street.

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The core of social media is content. This is why there needs to be an effective content strategy. Brands need to provide their followers and prospective customers with content that provides meaningful interactions and incentives if they are to attract and keep the attention of the social customer.

It is necessary to create and distribute content that helps to attract, engage and acquire prospects and that is effective in bringing about profitable customer behaviour.

Creating effective and relevant content

Creating value
Social media content has to be relevant to be effective. All customers have questions and when the basis for generating content is to help your customers and prospects answer their questions and solve their problems, it becomes an excellent way of providing value.

So find out what problems your customers and prospects may be having that is related to your industry and market and begin to solve these in the social media content you provide.

Creating consistency and authenticity
Credibility can be achieved when a company adopts integrated social media across relevant social channels and consistently offers relevant and valuable content as opposed to just bombarding the audience with sales propaganda.

Consistency of message content and chosen way of communication enhances authenticity. The brand can thus be trusted.

Targeted Content
You should create valuable content targeted at your particular audience. Your content should resonate with your customers and prospects that you want to attract, engage and acquire.

Different thinking styles and preferences for consuming media should be considered. For example, some people may like images or videos and others may prefer texts. All these can also be combined to provide meaningful interactions and rich customer experiences.

Calls to action
Calls to action such as to subscribe, or register for an e-newsletter will encourage future participation and enhance engagement. This will eventually help to achieve the ultimate goal of bringing about profitable customer behaviour such as in placing an order.

Read Full Post »

What makes for an effective and efficient social CRM system? Here are the main points to consider.

Inter-departmental collaboration

Social CRM is effective when carried out cross-functionally. Usually, it is the Marketing and Communications department that would be mostly responsible for the company’s social CRM. However, they would need to communicate and collaborate with other departments to ensure efficiency. For example, they would need to have up to date information on products, pricing and the sales and purchase cycle from the Sales department. Also, liaising with Customer Service department is crucial regarding customer interactions and any complaints. Input from Product Development department is essential to resolve matters relating to existing products and to innovatively meet customer demands.

Centralised data storage

Since social CRM needs inter-departmental collaboration and communication, it is most effective when each department has access to up to date relevant data about matters and as they arise. Hence, data should be stored centrally.

Content creation and distribution

Good quality and relevant content that encourage dialogue and participation will enable an understanding of your brand while increasing brand visibility. A multi-channel approach to distribution of content is necessary since customers can change channels as easily as they do with television. You need a system and routine in place that helps you to proactively and persistently engage the customer in all the places relevant to your brand.

Monitoring of relevant platforms

Since the focus is to create and support a dialogue system of communication that enhances customer engagement and collaboration, you will need to listen and be responsive to what is being said. You should develop a system of listening to discussions on all relevant social media platforms, using monitoring software that records relevant messages from the social media platforms.

Having in place a reliable social CRM system that comprises of the above will enable co-ordination of staff, communication and activities, saving time and money.

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This blog enables me to share and explore social media as a Customer Relationship Management tool in building and sustaining corporate credibility.

Corporate credibility as an aspect of corporate reputation refers to the perception that stakeholders have of the company’s honesty, expertise and trustworthiness. It reveals whether the company can be relied upon to do what it says it will do and whether it backs up its corporate communication with actions in line with its promises.

Corporate credibility is important as it affects stakeholder attitude towards the company and towards the company’s marketing, branding and communication strategies. High credibility leads customers to form positive attitudes and positive purchase intentions towards the company. As a result high credibility enhances customer loyalty, market share, brand equity and profit.

For a company to achieve its financial goals, it will need to develop trust and credibility through customer centric strategies. Such customer centric strategies necessitate being able to gather information as much as possible about customer perceptions and their attitudes towards the company and its products, and also being able to listen to customers. This can best be done through a collaborative dialogue strategy of communication, a two-way symmetrical model. Engaging positively with customers and listening to them enhances customer loyalty and the data gained as a result can help to further improve services.

An effective Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system can achieve this and can help identify areas for improvement in order to raise performance.

Traditional CRM vs Social CRM
Traditional CRM involves managing the relationship with the customer for the benefit of the company. It is a marketing tool with a focus to selling to customers and it is therefore the company that initiates and controls the communication while the customer is mostly passive.

Social CRM on the other hand creates an avenue to engage and collaborate with the customer on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The customer does not play a passive role but the emphasis is on community and relationship building to improve customer experience with the company’s products and services. It is a less formal form of conversation and communication could be customer to customer or business to customer.

Social CRM can create an avenue to listen to the concerns, needs and preferences of the customer in a customer centric strategy that enhances corporate credibility and therefore brand equity and revenue. The FedEX story on GannetLocal blog illustrates this. 

One of those companies that have harnessed the power of social media to enhance credibility through Social CRM and have experienced financial growth as a result is Dell.

Linksys, Chordiant and Enterasys Networks are other examples of successful Social CRM to enhance corporate credibility.

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