Abstract
The rising popularity of social media has added a new challenge that companies are facing today since they can hardly manage the information that is shared about their products and brands among the members of these social platforms. Customer relationship management strategy, in this respect, has transformed into social-CRM through which the social media channels are integrated with the CRM tools. This significant change in companies' interactions with customers demands not only different ways of doing business but also managerial commitment, participatory human resources, and technological infrastructure. The are multiple objectives of this chapter. Firstly, the aim is to provide detailed information about social-CRM and its differences from the traditional CRM. Secondly, how social-CRM affects consumers' changing roles during their purchase journeys and helps firms in creating personalized experiences for customers will be explained. Finally, what social-CRM demands from managers and how they can develop strategies based on this new CRM orientation will be discussed.
TopBackground
Operating in a highly competitive and dynamic business environment, firms for a long time have been aware of the importance of CRM strategy. Due to its multidisciplinary nature, previous literature about CRM includes different definitions instead of a widely agreed one (Buttle, 2004; Ngai, 2005). Nevertheless, CRM can be defined as firms’ strategic uses of technological tools and resources to manage interactions with current and potential customers (Kincaid, 2003). CRM can also be conceptualized as a comprehensive strategy for acquiring and collaborating with customers to create superior value for both parties (Parvatiyar & Sheth, 2001). The development and implementation of an effective CRM strategy is no more a choice but a requirement for enhanced customer loyalty and success in terms of profit and market share.
Previous studies on CRM include topics such as knowledge management and datamining (Verhoef et al., 2010; Payne and Frow, 2005; Shaw et al., 2001; Ha et al., 2002), management, planning and strategy (Boulding et al., 2005; Ling & Yen, 2001), segmentation, targeting, and positioning (Hymas, 2001), customer value and loyalty (Lee‐Kelley et al., 2003), e-commerce and e-CRM (Feinberg et al., 2002; Taylor & Hunter, 2002), and sales management (Ahearne et al., 2007). Consideration of several diffferent concepts for studying CRM already reflects its multidimensional nature.
On the other hand, rapid growth of Internet and technological tools worldwide has transformed the way firms are managing their relationships with customers (Bauer et al., 2002). Consumers are engaging with products and brands through multiple digital touchpoints- points where brands interact with customers- and it has become crucial to examine how different touchpoints influence consumers’ decisions during their purchase journeys (Hallikainen et al., 2019). Among these digital touchpoints, the ones that significantly influence consumer behavior are the social media channels. Social media platforms have been key places where consumers are exchanging their experiences and opinions about products and brands with other customers (Fauser et al., 2011). The increasing popularity and usage of social media by consumers require firms to develop new CRM capabilities beyond traditional tools and tactics (Pansari & Kumar, 2017; Wang & Kim, 2017). Social-CRM, in this regard, integrates social media with the existing CRM systems and helps firms to effectively manage their relationships with customers and enhance their satisfaction (Trainor et al., 2014).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Co-Creation of Value: Value is jointly created by the customer and the company.
E-Commerce: Buying and selling products and services via internet.
Social-CRM: The integration of social media channels into CRM platforms.
E-CRM: Application of Internet-based technologies to achieve CRM objectives.
Internet-Savvy: A person who has detailed information about Internet and can use it for her/his needs other than just surfing or downloading.
Datamining: The process of uncovering valuable information from large data sets.