Cloud CRM Software Forum

Backlash against jargon? Okay. Backlash against concepts? Dangerous.

There's been plenty of discussion of whether Social CRM is a mandate, a flavor of the month, if it's just a fad, or if it's "jumped the shark," as Denis Pombriant posted. Other social CRM experts continue to ask this question in different ways. Denis might be closest to reality; the term Social CRM has been pervasive long enough that there's a backlash (although social CRM proponents have not yet done anything so completely desperate as to officially indicate the sunset of the term). But anyone who thinks the concepts the term Social CRM is used to indicate are passé are deluding themselves. The fact that your organization may not be ready to internalize new ideas is not a great reason to pooh-pooh new ideas, and that's true with social CRM.

I suspect there are two factors behind the Social CRM backlash. First off, many organizations are still grappling with the essentials of basic CRM. Even without the "social" in front of it, CRM is a daunting subject to put in place. It's not an IT project, although a lot of companies reduce it to that and set the stage for later CRM disappointments. It's a company-wide project that involves not just getting the software right but also getting your processes and the attitudes of your employees right. Those last two things are much more difficult than just implementing software – and Social CRM requires you to add even more complexity to that aspect of the CRM equation. That's somewhat scary – and I think it's led some people to write off Social CRM as a result.

The other reason that there's a backlash against Social CRM is that there is no "Social CRM" product out there. You just can't buy something from a vendor and suddenly have all the benefits ascribed to Social CRM flowing into your company. Again, this owes something to the CRM-as-IT myth; the reality is that Social CRM will manifest itself in different ways for different companies, making it pretty tough for vendors to craft a one-size-fit-most Social CRM suite that actually works for its customers. In some eyes, the lack of a product means there's a lack of validity to the concept.

Both these takes are understandable, but they'll ultimately prove unforgivable. Social CRM is going to manifest itself as a competitive advantage in the next few years – not because some vendor delivered a sprawling, Social CRM omnibus suite that can do everything but because individual companies will seek out the right tools to work with their customers and derive sales intelligence from those interactions that allow them to spot hidden opportunities and simultaneously build existing relationships. Of course this stuff is complex – but your customers are themselves complex people. As they gain power in the relationship, it makes sense that the equation is shifting.

Sticking to what's easy for you and your company is business-centric thinking. So is dismissing the fact that the customer now owns the conversation. As Paul Greenberg has said, Social CRM is business's response to the customer's ownership of the conversation. You might think the jargon of Social CRM has passed its expiration date, but you'd better recognize the reality of what that jargon signifies. Otherwise, I fear it may be your company that's jumped the shark.