The Semacraft Blog

It should have become increasingly difficult to overlook mobile services when deploying enterprise applications for customer facing brands.  But it appears not. I still don’t see much integration between Social CRM platforms and text messaging although I do see mobile apps showing up and mobile-friendly platforms like Lithium Mobile. In Africa, apps and mobile-friendly solutions may be important but text-message-driven implementations would be key.

I think the case for integration between Social CRM and mobile services platforms is fairly compelling. In emerging markets where penetration of the Internet is still below 30%, building online communities with strong mobile components should be imperative. In Kenya for instance, only about 4 million people have access to the Internet (see regulator report here). Approximately 900,000 of them are on Facebook.  Over 19 million have access to a mobile phone, almost 50% of the entire population.  Three networks will have 3G networks by the end of 2010 and one will be testing a 4G network.

Mobile cannot be ignored. It’s where the masses live.  Any brand really serious about growing a large online community will have to pay attention to mobile as it becomes the single largest driver for improved Internet penetration across the continent.

Here are 5 ways we could use mobile services to extend the reach of Social CRM platforms and the online conversations they empower.

1. Crowd-sourced Crisis Information – This mobile extension of social CRM would work well for civil society organisations that wish to extend the reach of their online communities. The social CRM may provide with them with data on engagement and communication happening between the organisation and the individual but mobile would allow the individual to contribute content as it happens. It could also serve an important role in verification of crowd-sourced data.
2. Rapid Social Marketing Response – This use case and the next two are well described in the Altimeter Group’s report “The 18 Use Cases of Social CRM; The New Rules of Relationship Management“.  In a scenario where the brand stays informed on what is being said, by whom, how fast its spreading and what else the individual has said before, mobile would allow teams to be updated and tasks delegated from the field. Text messaging would limit the flexibility of responses but would be the only format compatible with all devices. Mobile apps would also be an option as well as mobile-friendly web interfaces.
3. Rapid Social Sales Response – I like the phrase “catch a sale in mid-air”. Very inspiring. Pushing information on a sales opportunity to teams wherever they are via text messaging or apps would accelerate the response time immensely. I would love to hear thoughts on how this can be implemented.
4. Crowdsourced R&D – Imagine a scenario where your ‘crowd’ can send you feedback as they interact with your ‘beta’ version product. Without having to move to their PC, they can communicate wherever they are via text or an app on their mobile device. Ofcourse, I assume here that the product isn’t a bit of software or a computer 🙂
5. Workflow Facilitation – Using USSD, regular text messaging or via mobile app, a manager can receive an alert when a process requires approval. Rather than wait to get back to his station or a connected Interned device, the manager can respond via his device and issue the necessary approvals (or denials) to get work flowing again.

There must be more ways mobile services can be integrated into Social CRM platforms. Would love to hear your thoughts.

Related posts:

1. Creating Better Harmony With Social CRM
2. Are Brands Social on ‘Social’?
3. Simple Social CRM