Brent's Social CRM Blog

Helpstream's Bob Warfield on CRM and Social Business Processes - #scrm

I recently had a briefing from the folks at Helpstream. And while I didn't get hands-on with it, what I saw of it I liked. The integration of community functionality, social marketing and traditional CRM looks to be on target. But I'll reserve final thoughts on the service until I've had a chance to really check it out.

I don't have to reserve my opinion of Helpstream CEO Bob Warfield. I recently had a chance to speak with Bob and enjoyed getting his take on where social CRM is going. Bob shared his vision of what social CRM is, and the importance for companies to develop and implement social business processes. He also talks about the social CRM manifesto Helpstream put out on the company blog.

I totally agree with Bob on the social business process front. It's what differentiates social CRM from just hanging out on social sites and seeing how many followers you can accumulate. I like what Bob had to say, and the direction Helpstream seems to be headed in. So check out my conversation with Bob below, or download the mp3 here.

Technorati : helpstream, social business processes, social crm
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RightNow's Dave Vap on the HiveLive Acquisition's Impact on Social CRM

I just checked the forecast for Colorado Springs. Lows in the 20s.... I mean I hear it's beautiful out there and I'm looking forward to it, but lows in the 20s? Really?

I'm headed out to Colorado Springs to check out the RightNow Technologies user conference. It's my first time going to a RightNow event so I'm curious to see what takes place there. I'm also curious to see what they've done with HiveLive in terms of integrating the social network platform with their core CRM functionality.

One of the folks I hope to catch up to is Dave Vap - RightNow's VP of Products. I had an opportunity to talk with Dave just after the HiveLive acquisition was announced. He gave me his take on why RightNow made the move, what it will mean to their customers, and how they will help customers implement social crm strategies. You can check the conversation out below, or download the mp3.

Technorati : hivelive, rightnow, social crm
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Social CRM: The #SCRM Accidental Community Roundtable Conversation

I've been talking a great deal (unfortunately not on this blog lately...) about the power of accidental communities. I call them that because I stumbled my way into starting a few of them. Stumble is the right word because I had no intention to start anything, I just wanted to keep track of stuff on Twitter, and maybe get involved with a few conversations.

About this time last year I had been writing and talking (mostly to Paul Greenberg) about the idea of social CRM for about a year. I had just finished a whitepaper on Social CRM for the folks at Sage Software and was looking try to connect with other folks interested in this area. I was also right in the middle of the whole Barack 2.0 thing, which made me look at Twitter in a whole new light. So I decided to start using a hash tag on Twitter to start tracking anything I tweeted about with respect to social CRM - that tag was #scrm.

As I began using the #scrm tag I noticed something - nobody else was. I would use it to share links and keep track of conversations, but weeks went by without anyone else using the tag. Then @ScorpFromHell (aka @Prem_k) started using it like crazy. He used it so much we began to question if he was just one person... the verdict is still out on that. Then others started using it and joining the conversation. Guys like @Mjayliebs and @CRMStrategies and @EKolsky. There was @JohnFMoore and @MKrigsman and @Jesus_Hoyos...... and @DrNatalie and @Lager and @Kitson.

So what started as nothing more than a way to keep track of stuff on Twitter turned into a real community of people interested in the development of this thing we (NOW) call social CRM. And not only are these people interested in social CRM, they are interesting people period. I know this because the #scrm hash tag made it possible for me to really get to know them. And the hash tag made it feel like I already knew them when I met them face to face, like recently at the CRM Evolution and Oracle OpenWorld conferences. Check the picture below of me, Esteban Kolsky, Paul G, Marshall Lager and Denis Prombriant - taken by Michael Krigsman at OpenWorld.

Oh yeah, the hash tag also put me in touch with some of the smartest people in the space. And while I was the alone in the wilderness when I first started using it, I'm not alone any longer as more than 670 people are now using the #scrm tag. It's by far the best place to go to keep up with what's going on with social CRM. So as far as accidents go, this one ranks among the very best I've had.

To give you just a little sample of the great conversations taking place there, I recently invited a few of the #scrm regulars onto the Technology For Business Sake show to get there take on.....well, you know. So check out @Prem_k (Prem Kumar), @Mjayliebs (Mitch Lieberman), @Ekolsky (Esteban Kolsky) and @CRMStrategies (Brian Vellmure) as they share their must-hear takes on everything Social CRM. Listen below or download the mp3 by clicking here. Enjoy!

Technorati : #scrm, accidental community, social crm
Del.icio.us : #scrm, accidental community, social crm