Coursework 2: Digital and social CRM

Coursework 2: Digital and social CRM

 

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Coursework 2: Digital and social CRM

Digital and social CRM (Literature review)

Digital and Social CRM Definition

Social CRM refers to the unification of different social media platforms with CRM systems with the aim of monitoring customers’ conversation and how they engage with company brands (Faase, Helms, and Spruit, 2011). At the age of internet connectivity and presence of smart gargets such as tablets Social CRM is an important tool employed by the businesses to optimize their services delivery and the users’ experience.

Traditional versus Social CRM

The traditional CRM is managed by the company and its main objective is to advertise the company brands in order to increase sales. The company uses the previous customers’ data to select the communication channel that will reach a larger section of the population. On the other hand, Lehmkuhl and Jung, (2013) notes that Social CRM employs customers’ perspective in that customers’ are at the center stage of communication as they engage with each other while the company acts as a facilitator for managing the channel or media used.

Traditional CRM main motive is to increase sales as mentioned above and therefore they are process-centric. By using customer data available different workflows are designed in pursuance with the marketing objectives. Unlike traditional CRM, Social CRM main objective is to expand the company customer base by reaching out to prospective customers as Rouse (2020) suggests.

In traditional CRM, customer service is only available at the company designated outlets and it is only accessible within the hours and through the media designed by the company. In social CRM customer uses a communication media of her choice to reach the company and expects quick response of her queries from the company (Choudhury and Harrigan, 2014). Moreover, Hassan (2020) opines that through the social media a prospective customer also has the chance to get response from other customers. Versatility of the social media platforms also helps to offer personalized customer service an important aspect in building trust and royal customer base.

Lastly, in traditional CRM companies seek the customers’ feedback by contacting them directly. Furthermore, Dutot (2013) illustrates that word of mouth is another important communication tool used by consumers to share their experiences with their close circles about the product. In Social media, customers share their feeling and experiences regarding a product in the different online platforms.

Benefits and challenges of digital and social media from the perspective of companies and customers

Benefits to companies

Win more business: application of social CRM helps a company to gain more information about the consumer demographics, preferences and needs. Alqahtani and Saba (2013) suggest that such information is critical in product development and conducting marketing campaigns which are crucial elements in creating what the market needs and communicating to them that their wants exists. Consequently, Social CRM when utilized well can help the company globalize rapidly.

Improved departmental Coordination: the use of Social CRM interlinks every department and all the company employees to each other. Social CRM gives the company avenue of accessing the real-time data of interaction between customers and this reduces information fragmentation and delays occasioned by long chains of communication as Woodcock, Green, and Starkey (2011) indicates. This greatly reduces costs and streamlines information flow.

Benefits to customers

Customers are given personalized services which are instant and this helps them in decision making in real time.

Customers have the opportunity to get reviews of various products from different companies and analyze their quality, price and other utility benefits from a wide source of information (Muro, Magutu, and Getembe, 2013).

Challenges of digital and social CRM from companies and customers Perspective

Churning data to information for organizations is a very difficult in an era where real-time data is abundant in different social media. Moreover, Woodcock, Green, and Starkey (2011) claims that it becomes more difficult for companies to shift their business strategies and adopt pure customer centric approach between due to costs involved.

Companies also have to endure long times before they actually benefit from social CRM. The process of implementing social CRM isn’t a quick fix as it requires firm to collect data, rain or hire employees to handle such data and also implement a campaign to help current customers interact with the company appropriately (Data2crm.com.,  2020).

On the other hand, customers mainly challenge in using social CRM is the reliability of information they get. In addition, Alqahtani and Saba (2013) notes that getting reliable information regarding a product proves to be difficult as user preferences and satisfaction are personal and therefore a customer has to consult widely to obtain different views.  In light of this, customers also experience difficulties in understanding the descriptions and words used by companies to describe their brands. The communication gap affects customers’ decision making process.

Recommendation for a digital and social CRM strategy for Toyota

As the presence and use of social media in the globe continues to grow its application especially as marketing tool has become of significance for the contemporary firms.  From the assessment of various benefits and challenges presented from assignment one above it is apparent that adoption of digital and social CRM for Toyota is an inevitable at the current age of information technology and globalization.

From information gathered from assignment one, it is prudent for the company concentrate its effort of initiating digital and social CRM with two groups of customers as Parvatiyar and Sheth, (2001) suggests. The first group should be the company best clients while the second should be the of top social media influencers. These two groups are crucial for the company as they have the ability to influence the company in a positive or negative way. Following are the two strategies which will enable the company to organize means of gathering data and use it to improve its customers’ experience.

Digital CRM Strategy

Toyota should come up with a digital strategy to help the company optimize service delivery to the two sets of customers identified above. In this regard, the company should initiate following steps to launch its Digital CRM strategy.

Toyota should come up with regulations aimed at protecting the two groups of customer personal data across its all departments. This will prevent any data loss or misuse especially that pertaining to financial transaction as Maras (2020) notes.

The company should also research and determine different chasing roles especially in the first group especially on issues such as buyer influencers and the key drivers.

Lastly, Toyota should develop leads using prominent social media platforms (Facebook and Twitter) by focusing on the two groups of customers’ identifiable interest and preferences.

Toyota Social CRM strategy

Different studies conducted in the on Social CRM claims that use of social media to offer CRM services is more effective as compared to other uses such as marketing. For Toyota to optimize its customer services it should employ the following steps.

Toyota should select its primary CRM platform. From the above Facebook and Twitter have been identified as the main social medial channels the company should adopt to launch its social CRM as they are most used social media platforms around the globe. Since Toyota as a global reach it should designate these two social media channels to reach the two groups of customers identified earlier (Chen and Vargo, 2014). Moreover, social media influencers should be employed to help the company drive traffic especially by use of various business pages which allow use of third party apps to advertise of offer consultative services. Facebook and twitter user friendliness, quickness and ease of use make them also to be good candidates.

Prioritize CRM Feedback

As illustrated above, millions of individuals are using social media more and more Toyota should use its vast resources to practically respond to all concerns. A method should be identified which will classify different requests and respond to them as they are posted in the social media.

Select monitoring software

Vivo (2014) claims that after setting the company platforms on where to receive queries, concerns and the best way to respond to every customer needs, it is also important to respond to various questions so that any CRM chance should not go to waste. Toyota should invest its resources to software that is aimed at monitoring social customer service. Zendesk for instance can be appropriate for the company as it is user friendly and versatile like Facebook and twitter. Further, Desk.com which has capability of compiling all received customer service conversations and then easily addresses them according to their urgency.

Measure data

Toyota should put mechanisms of analyzing the high priority requests addressed by its staff and the time they used to address the requests in order to measure the productivity and efficiency of the employees accordingly. In different apps in Facebook for instance the company creates it should keep on redesigning customer service needs as the company products evolve and consumer needs changes as Vivo (2014) suggest.

 

 

 

 

Reference List

 

 

 

Alqahtani, F.A. and Saba, T., 2013. Impact of social networks on customer relation management (CRM) in prospectus of business environment. Journal of American Sciences9(7), pp.480-486.

Chen, H.M. and Vargo, S.L., 2014. Rethinking social CRM design: a service-dominant logic perspective. In Handbook of Strategic e-Business Management (pp. 767-784). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.

Choudhury, M.M. and Harrigan, P., 2014. CRM to social CRM: the integration of new technologies into customer relationship management. Journal of Strategic Marketing22(2), pp.149-176.

Data2crm.com. 2020. Traditional CRM Vs Social CRM: Depict Business Techniques In New Colours. [online] Available at: <https://www.data2crm.com/migration/blog/traditional-crm-vs-social-crm/> [Accessed 24 March 2020].

Dutot, V., 2013. A new strategy for customer engagement: how do French firms use social CRM?. International Business Research6(9), p.54.

Faase, R., Helms, R. and Spruit, M., 2011. Web 2.0 in the CRM domain: defining social CRM. International Journal of Electronic Customer Relationship Management5(1), pp.1-22.

Hassan, A., 2020. Traditional CRM Vs Social CRM. [online] Medium. Available at: <https://medium.com/@AbdulHassan0021/traditional-crm-vs-social-crm-b4f693a3cad6> [Accessed 24 March 2020].

Lehmkuhl, T. and Jung, R., 2013. Towards Social CRM-Scoping the concept and guiding research.

Maras, E., 2020. An Inside View To Toyota’s Unified Enterprise Customer Experience. [online] www.retailcustomerexperience.com. Available at: <https://www.retailcustomerexperience.com/articles/an-inside-view-to-toyotas-unified-enterprise-customer-experience/> [Accessed 24 March 2020].

Muro, M.B., Magutu, P.O. and Getembe, K.N., 2013. The strategic benefits and challenges in the use of customer relationship management systems among commercial banks in Kenya.

Parvatiyar, A. and Sheth, J.N., 2001. Customer relationship management: Emerging practice, process, and discipline. Journal of Economic & Social Research3(2).

Rouse, M., 2020. What Is Social CRM? – Definition From Whatis.Com. [online] SearchCustomerExperience. Available at: <https://searchcustomerexperience.techtarget.com/definition/social-CRM> [Accessed 24 March 2020].

Vivo, M., 2014. Steps To Implementing A Social CRM Strategy. [online] Social Media Marketing | Social Media Examiner. Available at: <https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/4-steps-social-crm-strategy/> [Accessed 24 March 2020].

Woodcock, N., Green, A. and Starkey, M., 2011. Social CRM as a business strategy. Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management18(1), pp.50-64.