Think about it, when is the last time you visited a large brand website or purchased a product and knew exactly where you could find that brand online to have a conversation?  What happens most of the time is that consumers have conversations online and then brands find them. Any time a transaction takes place or anytime a  potential customer views a product, they should immediately know how to find that company online.

I spent some time in Vegas during CES where I had the opportunity to meet with folks from the Wynn hotel (which is awesome).  The Wynn does something very interesting when you sign up for their “Red Card,” (their players card).  When you sign up for the card they ask you for your twitter account if you have one.  I would take this a step further.  When people sign up for a hotel and give their email address the hotel should be able to scan social networks and website to see where that person has a presence online and then connect with them.  You can then use this information for when you send out links across social sites to see how specific individuals are interacting with your content.

Most Social CRM today relies on companies and brands going to the conversation.  We use listening and monitoring tools to find conversations and respond to them, but what do brands actually do to help consumers come to them?  Part of Social CRM is all about empowering the customer.  Companies need to empower their customers to come to them directly to ask questions and engage in conversations.  When visiting a website such as Dell, Southwest Airlines, or Kodak why aren’t these brands clearly pointing out where consumers can find these brands on Twitter or Facebook?  If I purchase a product from Dell, then Dell should tell me that if I need any type of customer service support that I can just send a reply to someone on twitter.

read more@ Jacob