Article by Scott Nelson, a member of the Gartner Blog Network
I just finished up participating in another wonderful Gartner CRM Summit, this year in Phoenix. I spent most of my conversations with clients talking about how social media fits into the broader CRM strategy. What interested me was that I would talk to them about having a broad strategy for social media, but often they would come back with, “that’s all fine but what about Facebook, or Twitter?”. In other words, they heard strategy, but they wanted to talk tactics.
I pointed out that two years ago, if we were having this conversation, we would be talking about Second Life. Last year, we would be talking about MySpace. Next year? Possible XBox Live. The space is in flux and these sites come and go. Too much time worrying about one particular site is going to fail to set you up long term for this inevitable change.
Firms need to think about the fact that the ecosystem (to use an overworked phrase) that they are part of, along with their customers, is growing, and the rules and the power are shifting. What they need to do is think about how they are going to play in that customer ecosystem. That requires a strategy…long term and able to handle a changing marketplace. It will require software tools. It will require written policies. But mostly, it will require creativity and a desire to experiment and learn. Once that is in place, certainly firms will tactically address sites like Facebook and Twitter. But those tactical approaches should be driven by the larger strategy.
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Filed under: Marketing Strategy, online marketing, Brand, CRM Strategy, online marketing, social media
