The real social CRM: more than asking for 'likes'

Because of this, businesses today are facing a dilemma. How do they appropriately reach new customers? How do they maintain the relationships they already have? Even more important, how can they truly understand the social consumer unless they embrace the concepts themselves?

These businesses need to become social. They need to tightly integrate social tools with business processes that allow for deeper levels of collaboration across company boundaries, making the process of supporting customers and building loyalty easier and more effective. With this new way of engaging with customers though, the underpinnings of "traditional CRM" need to evolve.

Businesses need to account for this new breed of social consumers, and not just by asking consumers to "Like" them on Facebook. The ways consumers interact, how they form relationships, how they make decisions, and how they purchase goods are fundamentally changing.

Read the full article on E-CommerceTimes.com