A personal case of Social CRM; it is about time!

I am not ashamed to admit that I am a “watchaholic” especially watches with a lot of cool features; It ‘s really bad but not bad enough for me to crash my S2000 (My Escalade) into a tree and fire hydrant while claiming to back out my driveway nor do I need to check into a clinic in Mississippi to help me overcome this addiction.

My latest escapade drew several lines to what is constantly being discussed in the definitions of Social CRM. This is not about defining it but more of my personal experience and how it depicts how the Social Audience (prospects, leads, customers, partners suppliers) interact with brands. Actually, I will put the Social Audience this context; anyone along the lines of a “stakeholder” that a company depends on for its success.

In the Social Audience, it is about me and my actions are a true depiction of what  2006 Time Magazine’s Person of the Year: You or in this particular case me and my experience relates to “Social CRM.” The point to remember is just because the audience has a perceived ownership of the a conversation it does not me companies cannot be a part of it but they have to constantly listen and know when to engage. There still has to be a solid foundation of traditional CRM as Paul Greenberg’s post a few weeks back expressed in Blocking and Tackling: Not Football, CRM.

So here is my experience and process of Social CRM shared with you in the CRM foundational manner based on a Garmin Forerunner 110 GPS watch ( Black with Red Stripe) I received this week.

My intent it to follow along the traditional CRM approach with a “Social CRM” point of view to explain ways companies can leverage multiple channels and integrate into their own People, Process and Technology Strategy.

Follow me ok?

Marketing:

1. I saw the watch in an ad in Runner’s World magazine several weeks ago on the latest Garmin GPS running watch and there was a link given for more information.
2. I went to site where I learned about the features and images of the watch; the only hitch for me was it would not be released for purchase until the end of this month.
3. I set up a Google Alert to track all that was being discussed about the watch pre, during and post launch in anxious anticipation of owning one.
4. I received a number of daily alerts that I had to sift through on articles, blogs, and comparisons to their current line and competitor watches.

Sales:

1. Through the alerts I went through the process of determining my own “Sentiment” which came out to be a positive one.
2. The opportunity to view multiple images and the ability to read blog posts from writers who were given early access to the watch and forum chatter further enticed my intent to purchase.
3. There were also several videos explaining the use, set up and functionality which steadily added to my confidence in the choice to purchase. I was also able to download a pdf of the user manual.
4. My next step was to find who would carry it, how reputable the dealer would be and what was the best price on it I could find.
5. I went through all of the due diligence and purchased it through a site RoadRunner Sports that I had been a sporadic customer of for a number of years which also gave me a nice VIP discount.

Support:

1. Initial support that I needed was more of how to set up the watch and synch it with a My Garmin Connect website that allowed me to upload via USB all of my workouts for a visual map and graph of my route and time, pace, distance as well as heart rate.
2. At the site Garmin also pointed me to a Plug-in that would allow me to use the online tracking.
3. I signed up, and synchronized without any problems and I reviewed the FAQ about the device and set-up.

I took my first run with the watch and I must say that it exceeded all of my expectations. It had unbelievable accuracy and ease of use.

I have described my experience but wanted to also share with you some ideas or lessons learned that companies can instill in their strategies to extend their traditional CRM strategy in the Social Realm.

Too many companies look at Social Media as being a separate entity but as I always say you cannot have a conversation or strategy pertaining to traditional CRM that does not have a Social angle.

If you look closer you will also see that the Marketing, Sales and Support lanes are all intertwined and lean on each other in sort of a full circle process. There is a large amount of crossover in those lanes can point and speak to the Social Audience.

While I had a very good experience I wanted to add some feedback to help companies further extend as well as connect their Social Strategy.

Lessons that can further enhance the experience:

• Garmin could benefit by adding a specific lead source code, or Mobile Text component to further connect, engage and segment their audience because the Social Audience is also a Mobile Audience. I see so many magazine ads that only give a website, usually in small print. Audiences have the ability, desire and tools to engage instantly.
• By adding the above it the effectiveness and ROI of the ad as well as instantly engagement for current and subsequent campaigns and communications.
• Do not force your audience to drink all of the online data through a fire hose of information; provide them a straw through precise Social Media Monitoring tools and practices.
• As you can see I have become an advocate and potential influencer, will Garmin find me? How do you find your brand influencers? Because of my satisfaction I will want to share my thoughts and ideas with others.
• I tweeted about ordering my watch and used the wording Garmin Forerunner 110 looking for an early engagement and did not receive any response. Companies need to leverage the power of Twitter, if someone has a problem which could be instant frustration or questions most will express it via Twitter. Are you monitoring this chatter? Can you engage?
• Integrate your marketing, sales and support channels through Twitter to engage your audience and invoke an early alert process to Marketing, Sales and Support inquiries.

If you are not looking at your current strategy and drawing Social CRM lines to all people, processes and technology you are not being effective in the conversations and engagements required to grow and maintain your Social Audience.

It is now time for me to run and feed my addiction.

“Mobile Marketing: Your Strategy AND Compliance Toolbox”

CompliancePoint

This unique Webinar explains how to effectively blend mobile into your marketing strategy — and also explores the legal issues that must be addressed for fully compliant campaigns.

Our fast-paced Webinar will cover:

How to engage consumers on  their terms

The how, what & why of effective mobile marketing strategy

How to blend mobile marketing into your current strategies

The differences between SMS & MSCM message rules

How to determine if your SMS program is legal

PLUS — all attendees will receive a compliance checklist and a marketing strategy checklist

Space is limited, so register now!

Join CompliancePoint & New Fire Social Media for this informative Webinar

Mobile Marketing: Your Strategy & Compliance Toolbox

Tues, December 15, 2009

TIME: 2 pm EST

Webinar Presenters:

Ken Sponsler,
Vice President & General Manager, CompliancePoint

Michael W. Thomas,
Director of Social CRM Strategy, New Fire Social Media

The Webinar will last about 1 hour.

For more information, please call

(800) 585-4888 x1040 or e-mail webinars@possiblenow.com.

Engage Responsibly, Engage Effectively

To prove that I use my idle time effectively I had this observation today in the waiting room of my cardiologist. It is called a waiting room because you are always waiting. So I pick up a Men’s fashion magazine that I probably would not buy otherwise and thumbed through the pages.

I talk about engaging customers quite a bit and made a point to check out all of the ads in this particular magazine to see how they interacted with the reader. Out of all of the ads I came across there was one that really did grab my interest and lured me in.

It was a Bacardi Dragon Berry ad that right there at the top was a Text Dragon to 65579 for more recipes. I found that interesting for a number of reasons.

1. I could engage immediately (while I wait)
2. I could engage with my mobile phone which I most definitely had with me
3. I could see the Text instructions without reading glasses or a magnifying glass

How cool was that? Also the suggestion on the ad was to “Enjoy it with Ginger Ale” which also caused me to salivate and want one. I mean it had to be 5pm somewhere right?

When I got home I went online to check out if they were tying this into their whole Social Media strategy and I was very impressed to see on the Bacardi Dragon Berry page a section to send a weekly drink recipe to my mobile phone, Dragon Berry Downloads and a mention of a Free iPhone App by Bacardi with favorite recipes. How cool is that again?

Bacardi is definitely on the right track of Social Engagement by getting the most out of their ad spend and the ability to tie it into their website. I am sure they can also track the effectiveness of the ad through the mobile responses as well as holding on to the mobile number for subsequent campaigns.

Now, the other ads in the magazine I came across were nice photos of the product but in small print the website causing me to write it down IF I could even read it (without reading glasses or a magnifying glass) and check it out later if I remembered. I did not see a way of engaging me or a way of capturing the effectiveness of the ad considering the perceived high cost associated.

Companies need to understand Bacardi’s plan of action and reach out and engage the eyeballs on their ads and demand a ROI.

Lessons learned:

• Gather interest to your product
• Engage the reader on THEIR terms
• Tie it into their interests and lifestyle
• Nurture the relationship with ongoing interaction
• ALWAYS be able to measure the ROI

“I do not always drink, but when I do I will ask for a Bacardi Dragon Berry with my Ginger Ale with a lime.”

Cheers!

"Pick me up!" my iPhone said……

Okay…..I know it has been like forever since I’ve had a new post and maybe what happened to me today will get me back on track.

So, I am sitting here working away and I get a text message from MWT stating, “Pick me Up”, for those of you know me well my initials are MWT but I know I did not text myself so text back “???” and a few seconds later I get another text stating “Pick me up Please”, I look around my office to make sure I am the only one in it and put the phone down again.
I am thinking some mobile virus has taken control of my iPhone and thought okay, here we go, something else to worry about now and is there a Norton Virus for the mobile phone?

I guess I was waiting for Ashton Kucher to jump out and say “you got punked” because I was thinking the “Pick me Up” text message wanted me to physically pick up my phone….you know…messing with me!

When I finally gathered my wits I looked at the contact information and saw that it was indeed me…..MWT texting me and then I remembered!!!! I gave a spare phone that I had to my youngest son Kevin and he wanted me to rescue him from waiting at the eye doctor with his mom. I had not changed the contact information in my iPhone to his name so it LOOKED like it was me MWT!!

Are you still with me? Do you get it? Hopefully you are laughing hysterically or just saying Michael is WAYYYYY out there. Well….I am actually.

Truthfully this should show you that I have been working too hard and have way too much on my mind these days.

So I guess I can say that I “punked myself” that’s a first huh? Maybe I can get a TV show out of this?