BeRelevant has reportedly introduced a new Social CRM platform which company officials said uses virtual collaboration to”proactively gather and prioritize insights from customers by engaging them through Twitter, Facebook (News - Alert), LinkedIn, and e-mail.

 

What this does is allow companies to discover what is most important to their customers and drive positive word of mouth.

BeRelevant’s Social CRM platform uses customer-sourcing and virtual collaboration technologies, company officials said, to “capture the collective wisdom of hundreds to thousands of customers in their own words,” distilling actionable insights.

 

“The results enable companies to make decisions that drive customer co-innovated products, improved acquisition and retention, improved loyalty, and positive word of mouth,” company officials said.

 

According to BeRelevant, the platform as going beyond social media monitoring, as one that integrates with Social Media, enabling companies to engage customers where they are, such as on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

It's being pitched, too, as a way to extend existing CRM systems by enriching customer profiles, segmenting the customer base into promoters and detractors, and identifying influencers.

 

According to Randy Hamilton, CEO of BeRelevant, it provides an insight hub that fosters closing the loop with each participant while dispersing insights internally for action.

 

“Companies get so much feedback these days that it is almost impossible to make a decision. And social monitoring just doesn’t seem to be living up to expectations,” Hamilton said, adding that the platform includes “best-practice conversation templates, real-time reporting, the ability to close the loop individually or by customer segments,” and that it is integrated with existing social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

 

According to a June 2009 survey conducted by CustomerThink, approximately two-thirds of U.S. consumers believe that companies should ramp up social-media usage to identify service and support issues. 

“The rise of social media has rendered the ‘command and control’ model of customer relationship management outdated,” said Paul Greenberg, CRM strategist and author of “CRM at the Speed of Light.”

 

 “Consumers are already controlling the conversation through platforms like Twitter and Facebook,” Greenberg added.