Social CRM for Business: Analytics Can Spur Greater Success

"What it points to is that there are a lot of people out there who are telling things to their customers rather than listening to their customers," Pombriant says. "I think that the important thing to do is to make this a closed loop and listen as well as tell, to collaborate."

The bottom line is that simply embarking on a Social CRMCRM strategy is not a panacea, according to Pombriant. You have to really do the work to make it a valuable addition for your company. Alles zu CRM auf CIO.de

One thing to look at is "sentiment analysis," which allows companies to find out what customers think about them in the marketplace. "According to the Harvard study, most companies don't know what their customers are saying about them and where they are saying it," Pombriant says.

Why is this important

"Because when you start doing that, you begin to get a much clearer picture of your customers and you become more intimate," Pombriant says. "And when you become more intimate, you're more likely to make that second or third sale over time."