And engagement is what makes people productive, passionate and collaborative. The customer doesn’t care who leads The lead over digital and IT in practice is a debate without a one-size-fits-all answer as each company is different and the CEO, CIO, CMO, and CxO have a name and a face. Well, if you have a collaborative structure and work in an integrated way you don’t have to look for all the content you have in your company because you know where it sits. In the social era we have started calling this the audiences of audiences of audiences, etc. An open letter to the CxO. MORE >>

In many B2B companies, especially those with a longer sales cycle (or buying cycle if you will), there is at least one division where employees meet customers and prospects without sitting behind their computers and campaign or CRM dashboards all the time: sales. All these people-to-people interactions lead to a perception of your company and brand by your clients and prospects. In some companies, the role of sales has been reduced by strict lead management processes, whereby the role of sales reps has been reduced to order intake. Many businesses underestimate that. MORE >>

People discuss their experiences as they get in touch with a business, product and service. However, most companies do not involve the customer at all. Consumers are becoming channel-agnostic. They are effortlessly switching from one channel to the other. The road to purchase consists of a multitude of touchpoints across a maze of channels, media and relationships. They share their buying decisions and actively seek information throughout every step of the buying journey, relying upon trusted advisors and even perfect strangers. The shift is clear. Consistency does matter. MORE >>

Social CRM is a term that is often misused, certainly in a product and solution context. Your company is managed according to this list&#. They further write that “thousands of customer interviews have convinced them that the “company’s list” and the “customer’s list” are always significantly different – including the items on the list, the specific characteristics of the items on the list, and the priority of the items on the list”. It seems everyone is offering social CRM solutions these days.  However, social CRM is not about tools. An exploration. You have a list. MORE >>

It’s difficult to compare a large international B2B technology company with long sales cycles and a complex go-to-market model, to a local fast moving consumer goods e-commerce pure player or a non-profit organization, for instance. Social media can play a role in every department of your company and in every “business function”, including the underused ones such as customer service, HR or even R&D. say “unfortunately” because most companies are stuck in silo-thinking, have fragmented divisions and lack company-wide cooperation and overview. Do you need those? MORE >>