Social Crm
IBM Global Business Services Executive Report
Customer Relationship Management
IBM Institute for Business Value
From social media to Social CRM
What customers want The first in a two-part series
IBM Institute for Business Value
IBM Global Business Services, through the IBM Institute for Business Value, develops fact-based strategic insights for senior executives around critical public and private sector issues. This executive report is based on an in-depth study by the Institute’s research team. It is part of an ongoing commitment by IBM Global Business Services to provide analysis and viewpoints that help companies realize business value. You may contact the authors or send an e-mail to iibv@us.ibm.com for more information. Additional studies from the IBM Institute for Business Value can be found at ibm.com/iibv
Introduction
By Carolyn Heller Baird and Gautam Parasnis
CEOs, according to the IBM 2010 CEO Study.1 Today’s businesses are fervently building social media programs to do just this. But are customers as enthusiastic? Actually, most do not engage with companies via social media simply to feel connected. It turns out, customers are far more pragmatic. To successfully exploit the potential of social media, companies need to design experiences that deliver tangible value in return for customers’ time, attention, endorsement and data.
With the worldwide explosion of social media usage, businesses are feeling extreme pressure to be where their customers are. Today, this hub of customer activity is increasingly virtual, located inside a social media or social networking site. But in an environment defined by customer control and two-way dialogue, are customers and businesses in sync with each other’s expectations? Consider the speed at which social media is being adopted by consumers and businesses alike. 2010 saw staggering numbers. There were more than 500 million active users on Facebook, 70 percent outside the United States.2 By
Customer Relationship Management
IBM Institute for Business Value
From social media to Social CRM
What customers want The first in a two-part series
IBM Institute for Business Value
IBM Global Business Services, through the IBM Institute for Business Value, develops fact-based strategic insights for senior executives around critical public and private sector issues. This executive report is based on an in-depth study by the Institute’s research team. It is part of an ongoing commitment by IBM Global Business Services to provide analysis and viewpoints that help companies realize business value. You may contact the authors or send an e-mail to iibv@us.ibm.com for more information. Additional studies from the IBM Institute for Business Value can be found at ibm.com/iibv
Introduction
By Carolyn Heller Baird and Gautam Parasnis
CEOs, according to the IBM 2010 CEO Study.1 Today’s businesses are fervently building social media programs to do just this. But are customers as enthusiastic? Actually, most do not engage with companies via social media simply to feel connected. It turns out, customers are far more pragmatic. To successfully exploit the potential of social media, companies need to design experiences that deliver tangible value in return for customers’ time, attention, endorsement and data.
With the worldwide explosion of social media usage, businesses are feeling extreme pressure to be where their customers are. Today, this hub of customer activity is increasingly virtual, located inside a social media or social networking site. But in an environment defined by customer control and two-way dialogue, are customers and businesses in sync with each other’s expectations? Consider the speed at which social media is being adopted by consumers and businesses alike. 2010 saw staggering numbers. There were more than 500 million active users on Facebook, 70 percent outside the United States.2 By
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