Introduction

“LTR is the new CRM.”

That was the concluding remark of Navin Nagiah’s presentation at the Inbound Marketing Summit in Boston, Massachusetts (Navin is President and CEO of DNN). Presented to an assembled crowd of a few hundred marketers at the Hynes Convention Center, Navin spoke of the “old” days of CRM, in which the focus was on the “M” (management). In the old days, CRM was impersonal, shallow, rigid, transactional, one-way and fleeting.

With social technologies and the rise of Social CRM, the focus today is on the “R” (relationship). Today’s CRM is not just social, but it’s also personal, fluid, deep, interactive, two-way and ongoing. In other words, today’s CRM must create long term relationships with your customers.

All Long Term Relationships Begin with a First Date

To illustrate his points, Navin told the story of Jack and Kate, both young and single. Handsome and confident, Jack plays the field and is focused on dating. He’s more interested in the process (i.e. scoring dates) than on a relationship. Jack is “traditional” CRM.

Jack and Kate have good chemistry, so they continue to date. Neither has yet committed to a long term relationship, but they’re spending a lot more time together and their conversations are gaining more and more substance.

Kate is now seeing that Jack hears her, understands her and values her. Jack feels the same way about Kate. They both begin to consider long term relationships with one another.

Sustaining the Relationship over the Long Term

Just like a couple wants to stay together (and perhaps have kids), businesses want to loyal customers that stay with them over the long term. Just as Jack and Kate will meet and interact with each other’s extended families, businesses need to understand that when engaging with customers, the brands are ultimately interacting with their customers’ extended social circles.

Conclusion

In his presentation at Inbound Marketing Summit, Navin provided the framework on how CRM (and in particular, Social CRM) enables you to have long term relationships with your customers. You need to listen and engage with them during all touch points along the customer journey. And you need to satisfy not just your customers, but their social circles as well.

Note: DNN’s Evoq Social can help you engage with your customers via an online community. Visit the Evoq Social page for more information.

Summary of Tweets

Feel free to review a summary of tweets from Navin’s presentation.