Better, Usable Data Key to Effective Social CRM Measurement
by Jim Foy on May 8th, 2012
Last week, ChannelBiz posted an article noting that about half of the Fortune 1,000 companies will not experience an ROI on their social CRM investment by the end of 2012. The author noted a lack of measurement and defined objectives of the companies’ social CRM activities are creating project failures. So while the global market of social CRM licenses is predicted to be over $2 billion this year, (more than double that of last year), many of the organizations don’t have defined objectives for social CRM initiatives tied into their broader business strategy.
Proper measurement is key to the justification and future success of social CRM but how is this best done?
In order for companies to truly see the ROI on Social CRM investment, better analytics are essential. Acquired customer data from the contact center must be easily obtained and visible throughout the enterprise. Of course the data alone is not enough. It must include context and interaction history in order to get a holistic and reportable view not only of the customer but of the Social CRM as well. When the silos in the enterprise are taken down and a culture of customer data collaboration exists, companies will be better able to measure the impact of their Social CRM investment.
Bridging the Gap between Social CRM and the Enterprise
by Jim Foy on April 23rd, 2012
Any casual observer can see the impact social media has had on the way we as consumers create, retrieve, and share information in our day-to-day lives. Companies enthusiastically jumped into social media to use it as a marketing channel while consumers have just as enthusiastically engaged those same companies (and legions of fellow consumers) to make known product or service issues or questions they want addressed.
For example, look at a recent U.K. study of social media customer service published last month by Sitel and TNS. It found that more and more consumers are using social media to get
information or resolve issues with companies. The study shows changing behavior as people are adopting a “tweet first” approach when looking to get information from — or resolve an issue with — a company. In fact, 17 percent of the Gen Y segment responded by saying companies should improve response time when a query is posed on Twitter.
Predictably, service-minded organizations are turning to common ground by building or expanding their presence on social outlets like Twitter and Facebook. Initially, these moves were more reactive than proactive as a way to stem negative, brand-damaging posts from going viral. But as customer engagement begins to deepen on social platforms, companies are seeing the benefits of a proactive social-service model. They are adapting a more collaborative approach, allowing their customers to play a part in shaping and managing their own customer-company relationship.
Just employing social CRM is not what makes a social business, however. Weaving social ideas and practices into every part of a company’s operations internally as well as externally is what classifies a business as truly social.
From customer service agents to IT to finance and beyond, every person within an organization is an integral part of making a business social and, for that matter, making a business successful. Removing the silos and replacing them with an enterprise philosophy that promotes collaboration will bring all that is good about social CRM home to the (social) enterprise. This collaboration-powered enterprise allows for expertise and knowledge to be shared and socialized across any and all departments – all of which ultimately translates to an enriched customer experience. It also means delivering much sought-after answers to those consumers’ questions and issues we talked about earlier. So, we have come full circle here.
All of this reinforces our view of next generation customer contact – that is, always looking for ways to bring people (within and outside the enterprise) and information together to improve the customer experience in ways not previously possible. It removes communication and workflow bottlenecks and produces smarter, more efficient business processes and ultimately, more profitable customer interactions.
Reinvigorating the organization from within
by Jim Foy on June 3rd, 2011
Technological advances over the past several years have created an unprecedented, dynamic business environment. The organization that stays in one place or fails to adapt its strategy to changing conditions will be overtaken by the competition, often never to catch up. Such is the climate we operate in.
Therefore, tapping into fresh perspectives is a natural—and necessary—progression. No company beyond the smallest businesses derives its vision from one individual; instead, a unique and winning vision is forged through collaboration, robust discussion, and firsthand experience with the market and customers.
Aspect has always sought to champion new ideas, whether from the acquisition and integration of partners or by providing promising leaders with a platform to help shape the company’s strategy. Management guru Peter Drucker wrote, “Promotion should not be more important than accomplishment.”
I couldn’t agree more. That’s why I was pleased to announce earlier this month the appointment of three key executives whose significant accomplishments have had great impact on Aspect’s success and whose ongoing contributions will continue to help shape and execute Aspect’s vision.
Michael Regan, who previously served as Aspect’s vice president of development, has joined our team as senior vice president of engineering and technology.
Mike Ely builds on his decade-long career with Aspect, most recently serving as director of systems architecture, to become vice president of technology.
And Serge Hyppolite has become vice president of product management after nine years with Aspect, the last several as director of product management.
I’m very happy to recognize their accomplishments by giving each of these valued professionals a stronger leadership role within Aspect, and their knowledge and insight will be instrumental as we move forward with a unified vision for the next-generation contact center.
A forum to champion new ideas in support of our vision
by Jim Foy on May 5th, 2011
Welcome to the new Aspect blog hub. Many of you are here to read about new ideas for enhancing the customer experience. Some of you may want to get more detail on Aspect solutions, the Aspect product and industry vision, or to discover more about growing trends and how they will impact your organization. You’ll hear from key members of our executive team, as well as from leaders within our R&D, sales, product management, support organization and sales and marketing teams to get a 360 degree view of what’s important in customer-company communications.
With a rich cache of industry expertise, Aspect’s leadership team is helping to shape the next generation of customer contact. We’ll use this forum to share our thoughts, insights and experiences with industry-leading customer-centric organizations across the globe to help you and your organization create winning strategies for delivering a distinctive customer experience.
Check back often to find out what our experts are saying about the driving force of Consumer 2.0, the power of Enterprise 2.0 in meeting consumer demands, and the business process impact of real-time communications, Web 2.0 and collaboration technologies. We encourage you to comment and to share your thoughts and experiences as well. We look forward to an engaging dialogue.
Sincerely,
Jim Foy
President and CEO, Aspect
Improving the way companies communicate internally and externally with their customers is an important objective for all organizations. This blog is focused on levaraging the collective knowledge withing Aspect.