The Top 5 Social CRM Software

The Importance of Social CRM Software for Businesses

In today’s competitive environment, having a social CRM software for your business is almost mandatory. While in the past CRM systems were used mainly, if not exclusively, by large corporations to collect their customers’ data, social media platforms have given rise to a need for going social in regards to CRM systems. This is true for almost all types of businesses regardless of size.

Whether you have a small, medium, or large business, chances are you use Facebook, Twitter, etc. to promote and build your presence. Therefore, when looking forward to purchasing a CRM system, knowing which are the best social CRM programs will prove advantageous to any entrepreneur. This will maximize your results by optimizing and synchronizing your business’s processes with the social CRM systems you will be using.

Top 5 Social CRM Software

1. Salesforce

Needless to say, SalesForce is one of the most popular social CRM systems in the world. In the list of Forbes’ most innovative companies, SalesForce ranks #1 providing the normal CRM service along with multiple social media options, plus a myriad of different products such as Sales, Service, and Marketing Cloud, etc. All of which can be integrated to the entire system.

As you may have noticed, the software uses the Cloud as one of its main components. SalesForce has an “offline data” option that allows the user to save profile and pictures information of potential and current clients. On top of that, it will screen social media conversations of each user and will help you identify where a possible sale can be made. Additionally, customer service concerns and questions can also be filtered and sent to the employee who is in charge of solving them right away. It is priced at +£45 per user/month. Although it is more expensive than other alternatives, the premium price paid is congruent with the quality and functionality delivered.

One of the strengths of SalesForce is the ability to adapt quickly. In the last year, it has had three new releases which will ensure that your CRM system will not get outdated when new social platforms, tools, and technologies emerge in the future.

2. OptifiNow Software

The beauty of OptifiNow is based on its comprehensive set of tools and its ease of use. While most CRM software focus on the sales part of the business, OptifiNow provides tools and tracking of relevant information from the marketing stage all the way to the final stage of the sales department. In other words, OptifiNow focuses on integration. This also includes social media communication and publishing which is part of the marketing efforts to drive sales up.

OptifiNow has an option called “Social Collaboration” in which salespeople can contact clients through social media channels. Communication can also be made between employees inside the company. OptifiNow’s “Social Selling” allows you to deliver messages on social media that are congruent with your company’s brand and image. Furthermore, it assures you that the content you will be sharing is legally compliant with Facebook, and other social media platforms to avoid potential setbacks.

3. Sage CRM

One of the most affordable systems in this list, Sage CRM is designed for small and medium enterprises that want to add value to their social media strategies. Priced at +£20 per user/month and with a free 30-day trial Sage CRM is aimed at helping you decipher what clients are saying on social media. This will allow you to adapt accordingly and offer exactly what they are asking for. This type of engagement with current and potential clients will strengthen your business relations with them.

Sage CRM works for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Yammer. On Facebook, it will analyze and engage in customer research to get to know your customer’s preferences and demands in more depth. On Twitter, it will monitor customer’s responses and Tweets to give you an insight of their perception towards your company. On LinkedIn, it will look for potential customers and will give you the possibility of generating leads. These are just some bits and pieces of the whole Sage CRM functionality.

 4. Nimble

Nimble is a very affordable social CRM system that integrates basic and not-so-basic CRM functions with social media channels. The strength of Nimble lies in its ability to provide a point of contact between customers and the business using popular software. For instance, the user can merge his Google Calendar with Facebook or any other social media platform. The same applies to other Google, Skype, and IMAP applications. It is priced at $15 per business/month.

Nimble also includes a “social listening” feature that allows the company to track what customers are saying about it. This CRM software also gives each customer profile a relative relevance. Those customers who are more engaged with the company will be given a higher predominance so the user can aim its marketing strategy accordingly. There is also the opportunity of including useful widgets into the social CRM profile of the user.

 5. Conversocial

Conversocial is a CRM software that was designed exclusively for improving business’s customer service on social media. Interestingly, from Google to the University of Phoenix use Conversocial to monitor and manage inquiries they get on their social media channels. Conversocial is priced at +£50 per month making it also an affordable and convenient choice for small and medium online businesses that want to improve their social customer service strategy.

Conversocial uses an algorithm to prioritize incoming messages. This way, urgent messages will get answered first avoiding a handful of angry customers. It provides access to all conversations history of your company. It allows top management to have control over everything that’s going on in the company’s social media channels. Plus, the different departments have the ability to communicate between them through it. It also provides analytics that measure response times, most frequent issues, and level of customer satisfaction.

 

Conclusion

The present of CRM is social CRM programs. CRM integration with social media networks provides a more effective and efficient method of acquiring and retaining clients. It also helps a company to send a consistent brand message that has to ability to reach a large share of potential customers. Depending on the user’s preferences, any one of these top five social CRM software will surely make his or her business’s overall processes run more smoothly.