Social CRM has nothing to do with CRM

Yup, that’s right.  If Social CRM has anything (IF) to do with CRM it I secondary at best.  Any social strategy is about the message, not about the software.

I keep hearing people asking about social CRM and I have yet to see any examples of anyone doing it right and I firmly believe that is because they are expecting the software to solve the social messaging conundrum.  It won’t.  The software (be it Dynamics CRM or otherwise) acts as a container of your messaging, you still need to define that message.  You still need to define the delivery mechanisms.  You still need to decide sender and receiver of the messages you do send.  You have to own the messaging.

Take Dynamics CRM (a truly great and versatile product).  Use its built-in campaigns and marketing functionality as designed.  Get yourself an add-on (Exact Target, Vertical Response…) to help brand your message.  Know what your message is, know how people perceive your message.  For better or worse from a corporate perspective social messaging is all too often about damage control.  Use CRM to organize this, identify patterns, and make changes.  Use CRM to track followers/connections/fans and the public (and private) replies to your business social accounts.  But again, it is the container, not the solution.

The social CRM game is full of players, everyone wants to be the first to get it right.  The focus is wrong. Until someone approaches the problem not the symptoms, no one can do it right.

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