The death of CRM and the birth of CEM – Customer Engagement Management

On the CRM planet, the last couple of years have been largely dominated by what is now identified has « social CRM ».

Quick reminder : in the 90’s, Database Marketing started to develop itself, largely supported by new technology (PC era, database oriented software platforms). Quite soon, the way to manage those ‘data files’ led to birth of ‘Customer-Relationship-Management’ tools, largely technology oriented and focused on ‘Customer Support’ (how to better serve and follow up current customers demands and claims) and ‘Sales Force Automation’ (how to help sellers to better target and follow up potential customers). Storing data, segmenting and managing it where the primary functions of CRM platforms. The ‘R’ of CrM was rather in small caps…

It was all about storing and retrieving efficiently client, prospect and supplier data in order to optimize the commercial relationship. Corporations were looking then at improving their knowledge in order to better adapt their communication campaigns and to level up loyalty.

This common approach is still largely popular within companies, but too largely dominated by a top-bottom approach, where the client is at the end of a well lubricated chain. This chain is made of email marketing automation and timeline based or behaviour based triggering actions.

But with the huge development of social networks, this approach has progessively been put under pressure. The ‘interaction’ which was mainly symbolized and measured by a specific clic on a web link has now been replaced by ‘engagement’. This covers well the interaction concept, but makes it broader, more impacting. Customers do not limit themselves to ‘interact’ by triggering an opening or CTR rate, but would moreover express their feelings with their own words to the brand. This brand personification is so important and close to traditional human concepts that people start ‘loving’ brands (‘I like’) or shouting (re-tweet) at others their own perception.

Measuring this level of ‘engagement’, those ‘I like you’ or those tweet-shouts and follow up the dialogue with customers on social networks is what we call today ‘social CRM’.

Engagement is perturbing marketers, who ask themselves how they will be able to manage all those ‘conversations’ and, more important even, how to orient and use them, without being able to control them.

That’s why I strongly believe that we are entering now the era of CEM - “Customer Engagement Management” that will replace the traditional CRM terms.

Understanding ‘engagement’ principles is now key for most marketing strategies. It has been the base for new ‘functions’ within companies, such as ‘community managers’. It is also the source of new business opportunities, combined with new technology developments, such as mobile and geo-located marketing.