Social reflections and Saleslogix v8.1 CRM

What is this social stuff about?

Reflecting on recent presentations I have done with our Business Partners about the launch of Saleslogix 8.1. There was a mix of people who “got it” when it came to social and some who wanted to know more about “what is social all about”. So I thought a blog article beckoned so here I am.

So why is social interesting?

Simple answer because it is growing like something that grows very quickly.

For a fun but informative introduction check out the video below by author Erik Qualman about what is happening in social today (it was recently updated for 2013 statistics).

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Having watched the video you can start to see the importance of this growing communication network.

So what is Saleslogix doing about it?

With v8.1 Saleslogix the social media revolution has come to Saleslogix. There are some really great features that you can read about in Destination CRM’s coverage.

My summary would be the Saleslogix v8.1 social tools allow you to:

  • Manage and monitor your social channels from inside CRM
  • Take action quickly and easily that is integrated into your CRM experience

The release has concentrated on the two key B2B networks: Twitter and LinkedIn. It allows you to see social traffic from a contact point of view and a global keyword point of view. So you might be talking to “John” and therefore can see a complete picture of him including his social interactions. This powerful information can help either in a Sales or a Customer Services role in your company. In Sales, you could spot a need that is not being fulfilled and help John by offering one of your product or services that could be useful to him. Or, if you are in Customer Services then the old adage “find a problem early and it is easier to fix” has never been truer and with social media you can see if he has a problem before he even contacts you.

Here is a look at the rather beautiful contact view of social interactions on a timeline visualisation in v8.1. Looks good, right?

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Do I care?

You might not be ready to tweet yourself and that is fine. But probably your customers (or some of them) ARE using social whether you like it or not. A solution like Saleslogix can help you manage the challenges and opportunities that presents. In my opinion, burying your head in the social sand has a limited lifespan as a social strategy! It might have already gone past it sell-by-date! The minimum bar has to be at least to monitor and react even if you are not publishing.

Thanks for reading!

Duncan Wood

You can find me on Twitter at @DuncanCRM

Previously posted in the Saleslogix Community Blog.