Implementing social media to engage with customers is on the rise, and the ‘social CRM’ start-ups are along for the ride.
In 2011, Gartner predicted that Worldwide Social CRM (customer relationship management) will boom, passing the $1 Bn mark by the end of 2012.
Social CRM Platform start-ups like Nimble, are taking full advantage of the growing market. Nimble, whose platform is designed to help small businesses, has ventured into the EMEA market with the launch of its UK office.
The U.S. based company allows businesses to easily manage social relationships with its software. The company has already gained 30,000 registered users and 250 partners since its launch last year.
Adam Sartner, research director for Gartner, believes the use of social data is expected to not only be in demand for customer relations within companies, but to be needed across several company departments in the future.
"Companies are asking for the integration of social data with other customer data within sales, marketing and customer service processes, which will require the integration of social CRM with applications such as a knowledgebase for customer service, multichannel campaign management, sales force automation or e-commerce, Web content and Web analytic applications, master data management, and even back-office applications."
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