I’ve always considered myself a relatively forward thinking (and fashion forward) guy. I try to make sure to color coordinate my watch, belt, wallet and pocket protector. And I rarely wear white gym socks with dark slacks and dress shoes anymore (unless I haven’t done laundry in a couple weeks). So I was admittedly caught off guard when a stunning young woman at a swanky martini bar chided me for the fashion faux pas of wearing my cell phone clipped to my belt.
Seriously? Since when did it become unhip to sport your cell phone (or in my case, cell phones) on your hip? I mean come on, it’s both practical and stylish. And if you have two or three smart phones like I do, you can pull off the super hero utility-belt look (think Batman). I imagine that people even say things like, “Hey, check out that dude. He must be uber-important, he’s got three BlackBerries. Let’s ask for his autograph.” You guys are all with me on this one, right?
Ok fine. So I’m willing to concede that perhaps it is a bit dorky to walk around with three phones mounted prominently on your belt. So I suppose I should probably cancel the iPad belt clip I just ordered yesterday from ThinkGeek.com? But one thing which I refuse to concede is this notion that Social CRM is already out of style, as suggested by Esteban Kolsky (@ekolsky), the otherwise brilliant (though often ahead of his time) enterprise-software analyst-philosopher-guru-prophet-visionary.
In his recent blog post, Further Than Social, Esteban paints the picture of a futuristic utopian society where there is no need to refer to Social CRM (or “social” anything for matter), because “social” has already permeated all things – corporate and otherwise. Instead of talking about Social CRM, we just call it CRM (with the Social capabilities implied). Social Media simply becomes media. Social Security… well who knows, perhaps even that is somehow fixed and working.
In this futuristic dreamscape, leprechauns ride around on unicorns. CIOs and Line of Business managers are BFFs and have weekly slumber parties. Companies no longer struggle with basic customer service processes like responding to an email in a timely manner or providing you with a reasonable (30 minute) appointment window for a field service repair or installation. Repairmen don’t fall asleep on your couch. Airlines wake sleeping passengers up after the flight lands instead of leaving them onboard locked in the plane. In this mystical and magical land, companies have fully integrated social media channels, online communities, web forums, micro-blogging services, and product review sites with the enterprise software applications – providing a holistic view of you across all channels and touch points.
It sounds great, but I’m not buying it – at least not yet anyway. Perhaps I just need to ask my doctor for a stronger prescription of medical marijuana (for my chronic back pain of course). Or maybe the world would look different if I had a better view (nestled high up in an academic tower with a nice contact buzz) instead of standing ankle deep in the muck and mud here in the trenches (Man, I sure hope that’s mud. It doesn't smell like mud).
For example, just today I got an email from a company telling me there are only three more days left to sign up for their upcoming event – an upcoming event that I am already registered for. And this is the third such email I’ve received from them. Honestly, how hard would it be to remove my name from their list of prospects once I sign up? This is really basic stuff. But clearly they don’t get it. So how can I really expect these same slackers who can’t even handle basic email marketing to magically figure out how to track me across all communication channels and technologies (Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Yelp, YouTube, etc.).
If you ask me, there’s definitely still a need to talk about “Social” CRM, just as there’s still a need to talk about Customer Relationship Management in general. In fact there’s still a need to do more than just talk about it. Look around at some of the customer service horror stories posted on forums like TheSocialCustomer and others, and you will be forced to agree that most companies (with a few exceptions like Zappos, HP, Lexus, and Ritz Carlton) still haven’t mastered basic customer service, much less customer relationship management – much less social CRM.
So while I reluctantly agree to unclip all my phones from my belt and walk around with a giant bulge in my pocket (bring on the jokes about “is that a blackberry in your pocket or are you just happy to see me” and the increased risk of testicular cancer) I will continue to yammer about Social CRM to anyone who will listen – even if it’s just my grandmother and my cat.
This post is also available at TheSocialCustomer.com at http://thesocialcustomer.com/node/30509/.
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