Apr 25 2011

The Future of Mobile CRM

We already know that mobile workers are the primary force in driving Mobile CRM.  The number of worldwide mobile workers will reach 1.1 billion at the end of 2011 according to IDC. This growth in mobile workers and subscribers is largely caused by the increase in the population of ‘Digital Clients’ or Generation Y (Millennials). But where are we heading in the Mobile CRM market with this growth?  Here are four Mobile CRM trends that ISM foresees:

  1. Location & context-based ‘push’ services – Mobile CRM applications will offer location and context-based ‘push’ services.  For example, a mobile system will send a user an in-context message that a favorite artist will be playing in concert near his/her current location or if you are a Porsche fan – you will get an in-context message that a new Porsche car is available at a nearby dealership for a test drive.
  2. Social media integration – Pivotal CRM announced that they will offer a social media module; integrating directly with popular social media websites including Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and customer profiles.  This gives sales and marketing professionals the ability to monitor and analyze conversations and attitudes of prospects/targets.
  3. Increased simplicity & relevance – Today, the functionality on mobile devices is over-complicated, but soon they will be simple to use.  Vendors are now using focus groups to determine the most ergonomically relevant mobile screens for CRM users.  As an example, Maximizer has used a focus group to develop and offer a Mobile CRM dashboard, which is easy to use and can be configured to only contain pertinent information for the user.
  4. Must respect new people/process/technology mix – Sales and marketing need to understand the “What’s In It For Me” concerning Mobile CRM. Simply put – it’s all about adoption. The technology has changed, but the processes are very important in dealing with a customer, how to sell to a customer and cooperate with the distribution network.  a company will need to ensure that their staff knows how to use their mobile devices and use the functionality that is available within these mobile devices. 

Tags: , , , Posted by - John Chan @ 11:58 am

Apr 07 2011

Social Media for B2B – Stand Up and Take Notice

I’ve been fascinated by some statistics around B2B use of social media vs. B2C.   According to White Horse Digital Marketing Agency:

•       32% of B2B marketers are active within social media daily, as opposed to 52% of B2C marketers.

•       46% of B2B marketers say internal decision-makers view social media as irrelevant, compared to only 12% of B2C marketers.

•       60% of B2B marketing companies have no full-time social media bodies as opposed to 46% of B2C companies.

•       Only 10% of B2B marketing companies have 5 or more part-time staff involved in social media compared to 19% in B2C.

The number that really hit me was the second one:  46% of internal decision makers at B2B companies think social media is irrelevant?  Really?  This makes me wonder how these decision-makers are defining social media.  If they are looking at social media as Facebook and Twitter, than I can understand that.  However, if it’s using social media tools to engage their clients and prospects in a conversation about how their company can better serve them, and how their products and services can be better tailored to meet their needs, then it makes no sense.

It’s easy to lose sight of the real value of social media.  If you look at social media as a specific tool instead of a strategy, then you are missing the forest for the trees.  The power of social media is in transforming the conversation between an organization and its clients or members from a one-way conversation, to a two-way conversation, and then to a multi-dimensional conversation.  A multi-dimensional conversation creates a community, where clients and members are talking to each other, sharing ideas and best practices.  The organization then becomes a contributor to the conversation and the moderator, making sure everyone plays nice and providing factual information as needed. The value of this can be hard to measure, but the numbers are getting better.  One client discovered that members of their community were almost 50% more likely to buy additional products then non-members.  Numbers like this should cause B2B decision-makers to sit up and take notice!

Tags: , , , Posted by - Kathy Barton @ 5:09 pm