Paul Greenberg, in evaluating whether we truly have CRM 2.0 yet, provides a great distinction between CRM 1.0 and the movement of Social CRM/CRM 2.0 that is currently taking place.
CRM 1.0 strategy was operational and tactical but was at its core a strategy for actually managing corporate transactions with customers – and at its best a strategy for managing the interactions with customers. The software associated with it was based on process efficiencies and interaction effectiveness…
…But that was CRM 1.0. CRM 2.0 is widely recognized as a customer engagement strategy. And it is. What it does is take CRM 1.0 and extend it far beyond what its original bounds are. CRM 2.0 as a strategy is actually maturing. It implies a lot that 1.0 didn’t. For example, it assumes the existence of a social customer who controls their own interactions with other customers and with the company. In fact the fundamental idea behind CRM 2.0 strategy is that the customer will engage with the company in a way that provides mutually beneficial value. The company’s skin in that game is to be honest and straightforward with the customer (authenticity is the buzzword du jour) and to be open with the customer and visible to the customer so that they have the information they need to make intelligent decisions on how they are going to interact with the company – in the context of their personal agenda.
The CRM 2.0 definition from the CRM 2.0 wiki is the following:
CRM 2.0 is a philosophy & a business strategy, supported by a technology platform, business rules, processes and social characteristics, designed to engage the customer in a collaborative conversation in order to provide mutually beneficial value in a trusted & transparent business environment. It’s the company’s response to the customer’s ownership of the conversation.
Increasingly, companies are buying into this and the recognition of this as a necessary strategy is shown by the numbers of companies that are using blogs, developing communities and participating in communities not built by them – e.g. Facebook or more specific communities that cater to the company’s interests.
