For most competent marketers in 2016, social media is already a pillar of marketing strategy. The medium is only growing, and new users are joining by the minute.
Social media is a place where consumers and industry thought leaders alike are on a level playing field, with access to the same content at the same time. It’s also a hidden goldmine for marketers, as many consumers offer up deep personal insights and feedback on social that they wouldn’t share on traditional channels.
Together, social media and CRM advertising can help e-commerce organizations better understand existing customers, learn more about new ones, and capitalize on customer loyalty with measurable ROI.
Why is it Important?
Just as marketing technology advances, so do customer expectations. Today, e-commerce organizations are expected to know exactly what repeat customers are thinking and feeling at the right time. Order histories, returning customer profiles, and auto-fill forms are all components of this personalized approach. Social media adds yet another layer to this strategy, enabling organizations to leverage the place where customers spend the most time – social media – to actively manage and scale relationships.
At its core, CRM advertising means discarding one-size-fits-all campaigns in favor of personalized customer and sales experiences. For e-commerce organizations, CRM advertising is key to adapting and changing with growing customer bases, outside traditional advertising platforms. This means understanding core audiences at a granular level to build unwavering brand loyalty.
CRM advertising enables organizations to:
- Meet and exceed customer expectations.
- Tap into an unprecedented wealth of consumer data.
- Receive real-time feedback from consumers.
- Understand the complete customer lifecycle.
How Can Social Media Help?
Social media adds yet another layer of personalization to a CRM advertising strategy, enabling organizations to leverage the place where customers spend the most time – social media – to actively manage and scale relationships.
Leverage Social Targeting
When marketers understand who their top customers are, they can target these individuals across various networks. A connection on social usually means a customer is brand loyal, and this relationship can be leveraged to boost ROI.
With CRM advertising, marketers can compile similar audience characteristics to spot-target specific segments. This way, teams can extend social reach by interacting with like-minded customers.
Turn Social Connections into Customers
The data already housed in a CRM solution can quickly and efficiently supplement customer information, making new customer sign-ups from social media easy for both sides. Marketers can then weigh analytics from social platforms and CRM platforms to understand where customers are coming from, what the ideal customer looks like, and how to maximize customer database growth.
Generate Buzz and Credibility with Social Sharing
Let’s face it, thought leaders, celebrities, models, and athletes are some of the most-followed people on social media. Innovative brands should strive to leverage brand ambassadors to help spread the message and grow new audiences.
On the analytics side, marketers can monitor campaign performance, shares, likes, and audience engagement to refine campaigns and ensure messaging is always timely.
Final Thoughts
Customer care can take place on any channel, including social media. So remember: making sure you listen to your customers and actively engage them on social media can only help your brand’s CRM cause.
Want to learn more about the role of social media in today’s omnichannel consumer landscape? Download our whitepaper, “Adapting to the Pace of Omnichannel Commerce.”
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