Rise of Social CRM and how IT and BPO Companies can Profit from it

Social media has managed to connect people from all over the world and customers are able to reach businesses via a more ubiquitous medium that is available 24/7/ social media has allowed companies to now reach consumers on a scale like never before. Social media marketing seems to have created a whole other aspect of business that companies have to diligently monitor and stay on top of competitors. But what if social media management is too much of a strain on your company’s existing processes? This is where social CRM comes into play. 

Business process outsourcing (BPO) allows companies to outsource certain business processes that they might not want to invest in fully. Such processes are outsourced to third parties to help your company stay on track with the core business processes. 

Social CRM in simple terms is a CRM software with an integrated social media feature. Social CRM software is able to collect data about your customers and interested parties through your company’s social media channels. This helps you understand more about how you should approach marketing for your company. Social CRM allows your customers to guide your business to fit their broader needs. 

More companies using social CRM and are incorporating social media marketing into their marketing strategies and with that, how well your customers receive your brand as well as providing customer service becomes a bigger necessity. 

Improving brand reach and brand image is the main benefit of social CRM. You can understand what personalities and influencers customers like yours gravitate towards. Social CRM can help your overall marketing approach and lead to more conversions. 

Social CRM can give you more information about segmented markets. You will in turn be able to market content designed specifically for each market segment and leverage this into more sales.

Social CRM allows your brand to have a good reach to prospective customers and have meaningful interactions with them. Social CRM is a good thing for your overall brand image. 

Social CRM gives customers the opportunity for your customers to give instant feedback. Social CRM creates more user engagement around your marketing campaigns, and you can help resolve any complaints or issues promptly without it being too late. 

As companies start spending their marketing and IT budgets on Social CRM initiatives, not only large CRM and Analytics software companies such as Oracle, SAP, and SAS, but many mid & small-sized software vendors are gearing up for what promises to be the next phase of CRM "evolution" - though looking at the speed with which this change is coming about, some may choose to describe it as Social CRM "revolution".

Thanks to this Social CRM (R)Evolution, IT and BPO Service providers have an incredible opportunity. They should extend their social CRM and BPO service offering to include the following key areas to capitalize on this emerging opportunity:

• Development of Engagement Platforms and Communities
• Integration of "Traditional" CRM apps with Social CRM functionality for 360-degree "view of the customer"
• Master Data Management - A major issue in CRM projects, more so in Social CRM
• Social Media Monitoring, Reporting, and Analytics
• Creation of brand-specific Social Media Content
• Social Network Analysis with social CRM

Sooner companies realize the untapped potential of Social CRM opportunities and act on it by building their competency, better for them.

For IT & BPO service providers who operate on the lower end of the price spectrum, this is a unique opportunity for offering value-added services and moving up the price spectrum, improving their revenue and margins.

BPO companies are centering themselves around big data, automation, and cloud computing.

BPO companies have access to customer data from all kinds of different users. BPOs can use data analysis tools such as social CRM to manage an immense amount of data and provide companies with exactly the right approach that they need. With many companies relying on predictive analysis to make their business decisions, BPO companies are able to have a leg up on this requirement. Brands are able to easily consult with BPOs about new potential customers with social CRM and eventually result in more brand awareness and conversions.

Automation is of the essence to BPOs, and they can achieve this by automating most business processes. Automated social CRM systems can get things done quickly without too much human intervention and the barrage of human error than comes along with it. Reduced costs, time efficiency, reduced number of errors, and resource and energy conservation are key benefits of automation.

Cloud storage has been the other game-changer for BPOs. Data retrieval and storage from social CRM have never been easier, and it also comes with less energy and space consumption. The best part about cloud storage social CRM is better cost-effectiveness giving BPO companies the opportunity to enhance their margins. Companies no longer have to invest in enormous social CRM servers and also the space for such servers. Instead, businesses can share all data via cloud services.

Cloud platforms also encourage better collaboration and communication between the BPO and the company that is outsourcing their requirement. Increased service deliverability is ensured thanks to easier collaboration.

Cloud security is paramount to ensuring that this aspect of business runs smoothly so you can be assured that BPOs are more than capable of protecting your data. Data breaches tend to give businesses that depend on BPOs hesitant to share their business data with third parties. However, control over technology, data, cloud infrastructure, disaster recovery, and management all ensure that BPOs are companies you can trust with your company’s precious data.

BPO services are ultimately ways to add more value to your company without taking on the infrastructural burden. This can allow your company to stay true to your core business and focus on business development and continuity.

With that being said, are you curious about how social CRM and automation can help your business? Read more about social CRM using our social CRM buyer’s guide and learn more about automation with our marketing automation buyer’s guide to see if these tools are the right fit for your business.