Is Social CRM The Key To Innovation?

We all want our businesses to grow and most of us can agree that growth comes through innovation. To innovate, a company must understand the needs of their customers. But research shows that very few companies have a methodology for accomplishing this, let alone having complete agreement on a what a customer need actually is.

As a CRM consultant who is interested in customer-centric business design, I see this as a fundamental piece of the CRM puzzle. From a strategic perspective because it creates value, and from a technical perspective because we have to design solutions that allow businesses to collect and analyze this information. This is the work that must be done before a company can design products and services (or communities) around customer segments. That means we’re getting outside-in before we get to Social CRM, right?

As I read about methodologies for understanding needs, two questions are whirling around in my head. First, does the concept of Social CRM, or even the tools …