Collaborative comes from collaborate which means work together to reach one goal. CRM is a strategic management approach intended to acquire, enhance, and retain profitable and potential customers by managing relationship with them. Collaborative CRM means working together in order to manage customer-company relationship. Who? A company has departments, people in company need to work together to manage it. Who? The object here is important, the customer. A company needs to work together with them as well. The customers are not “objects” anymore, they are the “centre” of CRM. Collaborative CRM has communication and interaction as its centre, the information and knowledge flows which aims to understand customers’ needs and take them into action, then gain customers’ satisfaction and loyalty.
One interesting combination is using social software in collaborative CRM. It allows two-way communication and interaction. Moreover, customers can inquiry, share opinion, experience, and feedback. I believe most company will think “twice” to use social software as communication tools with customers. Don’t let social software be the company’s boomerang, when a company has good intention in implementing it, but it can turn out to be implemented in a wrong way and it can turn the company upside down later. It is good to have this kind of thinking.
Though, I’m sure that customers will tell you the “truth” about what happen, from their own point of view. This is what matter! You need to know where you stand, you also need to know how the customers see you; without asumption, without hesitation, you will know for sure. It will be an important point where you can finally see your “face” from customers’ point of views. It sounds cruel, doesn’t it? Comments aren’t always negative. There will be two sides of everything. It is what it is, let it be, you can’t change it. But you can change and improve, and trying to be sustainable in giving good service to customers. Aren’t we all in a process? Anticipation is important, but to know the truth, get the picture, understand customers’ needs then take it into action are more important.
This is an issue I feel for implementing social software as part of collaborative CRM.
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