If you were to ask the average business marketing expert what the hottest trend in online communications today is, he would not hesitate in telling you that it is social media. The number of people who use the various forms of online communication such as Twitter is rapidly growing into the millions. This presents the marketer with a very unique opportunity and with the use of quality Social CRM software he can take advantage of this tremendous growth in popularity.

According to a recent report by Nielsen, the number of people using Twitter has grown almost 1,400% in the last year and shows no signs of slowing down, quite the opposite as it is expected to continue to grow exponentially in the next few years. For those new to the concept of Social CRM it is the use of the various forms of social media to communicate with potential customers and using them to build up both brand recognition and brand loyalty. There are two major areas of Social CRM practice that you should be aware of and consider implementing into your business. The first is one of the oldest practices and has been a major factor in the retail world for generation and that is brand monitoring.

You need to have a clear picture of what the public has to say about your products. By following user generated content via social media and the web it is possible to see what the public thinks about your products and what you can do to improve them. Staying in touch with your customers on a more personal level is also an important part of Social CRM. It has long been a standard practice for a sales person to keep track of the personal details of their clients such as birthdays, anniversaries, family member's names, hobbies, even their favorite wine. While this information is important it can become dated very quickly, by staying in tune with your clients via Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn your sales staff will have a much more up to date and accurate picture of what is going on in their clients' lives.

Staying in sync with your customers via Social CRM is the only way to make sure that you can tailor your campaigns to what is actually going on in their world. It also allows your sales force to communicate with them on a far more personal level. For example one of their clients posts this comment on their Facebook "Stuck in bed with a nasty cold", the salesman has the opportunity to send them a "Get Well Soon" email and then check back in a few days to see how they are feeling. Today's marketing world demands that you as a business be prepared to go the extra mile to cater to your current and potential needs. With the use of Social CRM and the numerous social networks that have become so popular in the last few years, you have a golden opportunity to take advantage of the incredible new advertising medium. With software from Sales Fusion you can put your business at the forefront of this technology and achieve levels of success that heretofore you have only dreamed of.