SCRM vs. CRM: Understanding the Differences and Choosing the Right Customer Relationship Management System

In traditional marketing, CRM customer relationship management system is an indispensable tool for e-commerce and customer service. With the advent of the social media era, the interactive relationship between enterprises and users has undergone profound changes. Traditional CRM systems can no longer meet the communication needs of enterprises and users. Therefore, SCRM customer relationship management system came into being. SCRM can not only manage basic customer information and transaction data, but also integrate multiple social media channels to help enterprises maintain interaction with customers on multiple social media platforms and improve customer satisfaction.

This article will delve into the differences between CRM and SCRM and analyze why more and more companies are choosing SCRM, as well as how companies can choose a customer relationship management system that suits them.

Definition of CRM System and SCRM

What is CRM?

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) refers to a customer-centric technology management tool that mainly collects, stores and analyzes customer data through email and telephone channels to optimize customer relationships.

Features:

• Manage core data : manage consumers' transaction records, sales follow-up records, customer feedback, etc.
• Core business logic: Segment customer groups based on users' historical transaction data and conduct refined marketing based on different customer groups.

What is SCRM?

SCRM (Social Customer Relationship Management), also known as social CRM, is an upgraded version of CRM. The SCRM system not only has the basic functions of CRM, but also adds the management function of social media channels. It can integrate the social media accounts operated by the enterprise into one platform, thereby realizing multi-channel interaction between the enterprise and customers.

Features:

• Integration of social platforms: such as WhatsApp , Facebook , Instagram , Telegram , etc.
• Data sources: Not only can traditional customer transaction data be collected, but also interaction data on social media, such as comments and likes.

The core difference between CRM and SCRM

Different customer interaction channels

CRM: It mainly conducts one-way marketing promotion to users through email and phone calls, and the frequency and channels of communication with users are relatively limited.

For example , Salesforce allows customers to customize and integrate their products with independent software vendors , while building their own application software. For users, this can avoid the initial investment of purchasing hardware, developing software, and complex back-end management issues.

SCRM: By integrating social media platforms (such as WeChat, LINE, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) to achieve multi-channel customer interaction, the company's conversion rate can be improved.

For example , SaleSmartly can integrate and aggregate social platforms such as Livechat, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, Line, Email, and WeChat. Enterprises can integrate their social media accounts into the SaleSmartly SCRM system to interact with users on one platform.

Different marketing strategies

CRM: Relatively passive in marketing strategy. CRM marketing targets the company's existing consumers. By analyzing the consumer's previous consumption data at the company, it identifies consumers with greater consumption value and conducts scheduled marketing for these existing customers to increase their consumption frequency and amount.

SCRM: Take proactive marketing strategies. SCRM can collect a large amount of potential consumer data through social platforms before users become corporate consumers. Based on this data, companies can design targeted marketing strategies and proactively market to target customers who have not yet consumed the company . In addition, SCRM also makes full use of customers' social networks for communication marketing, such as encouraging customers to share and recommend corporate products through reward rebates, thereby achieving marketing based on customer social relationships.

Data from different sources

CRM: Build customer profiles by collecting basic customer information (name, contact information, etc.) and purchasing behavior (such as placing an order, repeat purchase, etc.), then group customers and develop personalized marketing strategies for different groups of customers .

SCRM: The data sources are more extensive. In addition to basic transaction data, it also integrates interactive data from social platforms, focusing on connecting social networks, collecting customer information data based on social platforms, and grasping customer dynamic behavior trajectories.

Companies can use the SCRM system SaleSmartly to view the customer data sources of different social media platforms, check the number of new customers and customer chat replies on different social media platforms, and then analyze the promotion effects of the company on different social media platforms so as to adopt targeted marketing strategies later.

Why choose SCRM?

1. The demand for marketing trends in the social media era

In a marketing environment dominated by social media, users prefer to obtain information through instant interactive social media platforms rather than traditional email or phone communication. Most individual users may not often open emails to check marketing information pushed by companies in their daily lives, but if users see advertisements placed by companies while using social media, they may click to view and interact with the company's account. At this time, the company can further interact with users through the SCRM system, seize the opportunity to reach users, and maximize conversion rates.

2. More in line with the enterprise's multi-device/multi-account operation needs

SCRM uses a simple and intuitive interface to allow large companies to efficiently manage customer information on different social media accounts without the need for a large customer service team.

For example, through the SCRM system, large-scale enterprises can batch process customer inquiries on multiple social media platforms without having to switch devices or accounts one by one to receive customer information. On the SaleSmartly SCRM system, multiple social media accounts on different platforms/the same platform of the enterprise are integrated into the SaleSmartly backend, and the information received by multiple social media accounts can be viewed and replied on the [Online Chat] page.

If there is a need to operate the same account on multiple devices, the account can also be integrated into the SCRM system. You only need to add all employees to the corresponding projects to achieve multi-device operation.

3. Improve user life cycle

SCRM maintains long-term contact with customers through continuous social interaction. For example, when a customer expresses dissatisfaction with a service on social media, SCRM can promptly identify and prompt customer service to make a return visit, reducing the risk of customer churn. CRM systems focus more on the management of the transaction stage, lack real-time performance, and cannot respond quickly to market changes.

How to choose a suitable customer relationship management system

1. Clarify business needs

Before choosing a customer relationship management system, companies should conduct a comprehensive analysis of their own needs, especially to clarify the characteristics of their customer groups and core business needs.

If a company mainly conducts marketing and interaction through social media, such as cross-border e-commerce that requires multiple social media channels to reach customers, the SCRM system can handle more social media interaction information.

2. Evaluate system scalability and support services

The development of enterprises and market changes will constantly put forward new requirements for customer relationship management systems, so scalability and support services are crucial.

• System scalability:

Check whether the system supports adding more social platform accounts or expanding seats. For example, if an enterprise has many marketing accounts on a certain channel and needs to expand seats on a single social media channel, the SCRM system SaleSmartly supports customized expansion and provides enterprises with individual quotation services.

• Technical support and training :

Choose an SCRM system that provides high-quality customer service and technical support to reduce the learning cost of employees. The SCRM system SaleSmartly provides professional technicians to conduct 1v1 product demonstrations before sales, so that the enterprise team can better understand how to operate the product; at the same time, SaleSmartly provides 7*14 hours of technical Q&A after sales, so that the enterprise team can get effective solutions in time when encountering technical problems at any time.

Frequently asked questions

Can CRM and SCRM be used at the same time?

Yes. Generally speaking, SCRM includes most of the functions of CRM, while adding support for social media. For example, the SCRM system SaleSmartly can both send mass emails and manage interactive content on social media.

Which companies are suitable for SCRM?

SCRM is suitable for companies that need to build relationships with customers through social media and conduct multi-channel interactions, such as retail, e-commerce, and service industries. These companies need to frequently interact with users through social platforms to promote user purchasing behavior.

Further reading

Top 10 Best WhatsApp CRM Integrations in 2024 (salesmartly.com)

The most comprehensive cross-border online chat customer service system aggregation software recommendation in 2023 (salesmartly.com)

SaleSmartly passed Meta certification and officially became a Meta Business Partner (salesmartly.com)