This post is a part of the series of blog posts to discuss the impact of Social Web (aka web2.0/social media) on CRM applications. You can catch the first post in the series CRM & Social Web: Evolving Customer Management to Customer Engagement in case you missed it.
It has already been well strategized that web 2.0 is precipitating a change, evolutionary rather than fundamental in nature, in the customer-enterprise interaction models. The changes are primarily via greater insights into the customers' preferences and needs as well as significantly higher collaboration and communication resulting in enriched customer experiences.
Let's look at one of the web2.0 applications- social networking sites. These are currently on hyper growth (">200 million accounts created. 55% of online teens use SNS. Of those who use social networking, 48% logon at least once a day. 90% of teenagers tend to navigate to other areas of internet from social networking sites" [1]) and have the potential to significantly change the marketing world. Marketing professionals are already looking to leverage the viral marketing and word-of-mouth effect of this social channel to increase revenue and improve brand awareness and customer advocacy.
We would like to showcase how this power of social networks harnessed via a Facebook Application that, backed by SAP CRM Loyalty Management enables an airline company to reach out to the social network of its customers, spread via word-of-mouth marketing and enrich the customer experience. Click on the image below to visit the demo video page:
*Note: This demo is a proof-of-concept custom application! (The functionality is not a part of the standard SAP CRM 7.0 shipment). It was created in a rapid development paradigm by CRM development team colleagues from SAP Labs India and Palo Alto.
I hope that you can see the power of this linkage of Social Networks and CRM each being able to leverage the other to enhance the customer experience. Some of the potential benefits of such an application are
- Users can check their loyalty points for all their favorite airlines & retailers from a central location- especially important as social networks are tending towards becoming the ‘homepage' of the internet.
- As a social destination, users can share their upcoming itineraries with their friends/friend-groups if they choose to so [of course, respecting privacy as per the users' needs] so that the friends know when they are in town or even going to be landing in the same town together.
- From a marketer's viewpoint - this provides a very powerful in-bound channel through which they can engage with their customer base. Users would also be more receptive to offers/promotions and to engage with the companies through a channel that they prefer.
Of course, such applications are not limited to only transportation but can also be in the retail, education, green energy, etc. spaces.
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