As we've made out way well into 2012, I see some clear trends that are changing both the feedback management landscape and the wider CRM picture. These trends are easy to spot when looking back through the year - even into 2011, and their relevance is reinforced when we see how the established CRM vendors are making acquisitions to prepare for a new reality.
The new reality is "The Age of the Customer" where the enterprise is faced with declining trust and loyalty, and a severe lack of control around what is being said and communicated about their brands and services. Customers are finding and trusting a new abundance of information created by other customers, and the pace of change is remarkable. The enterprise is required to open up their traditionally closed CRM process as the best (and perhaps only) way of meeting this new reality. This is the heart of Social CRM.
The trends bring both threats and opportunities: do it now and do it well, and you have a huge opportunity. Do nothing and you will be outrun by competitors who do seize the opportunity.
Here are some of the most important trends you can turn into opportunities for your business:
Make your feedback event driven
Annual (or calendar driven) surveys and feedback is great, but you are completely unable to pick up on individual customer's experiences as they happen. Start gathering feedback in real-time closely linked to your customers' "moments of truth" as they interact with your company, and the feedback quickly becomes a key metric for your value creation (new opportunities, reduced churn, etc.).
Integrate with your CRM system
It's easy to do and it makes your business able to act on customer insight.
Think Panel, think Community
You need to really know your customers and you need to own your customer data. Look for an end-to-end software platform that has the ability to utilize all your communication channels and transactional data systems, that can also seamlessly embed your core business processes. Start building this base today, and you'll create a platform where unknown customers become known and where you'll have ways to orchestrate customer exploration that will drive both your top- and bottom line.
Social CRM and Feedback Management have moving boundaries (as they should in a rapidly changing marketplace). I agree with Gartner: "There is one absolute about Social CRM: it will be mandatory, not optional, for most organizations" (Gartner: The Concise Social CRM vendor Guide, 2012).
Welcome Summer 2012, and good luck in the Age of the Customer!