SCRM stands for social constituent relationship management. In the business world, the C usually stands for customer.

This is new territory for me but as I delve deeper into this area, I am coming to believe that SCRM will soon be a very sought after tool (and skill set) in the non profit sector. I believe this because like business organizations, non profits will need to become more efficient at raising money, delivering services, partnering, collaborating and strengthening their staff’s skills using social tech tools. The default organizing software for doing this well is and will increasingly be Social CRM.

Social CRM is about engaging your constituents, not managing them. A Customer Relationship Management software platform (CRM) is a standard tool for segmenting, tracking, monitoring and managing customers in the sales industry. With Social CRM you are able to integrate your social media strategy with the core communication and knowledge management functions of your organization.

As more and more people are conducting their business and personal lives online, companies and non profits are learning that pushing their content to them with the aid of their CRM is not good enough. They are learning the value of giving up control (which doesn’t really apply any more) and inviting people and groups into their operational and innovation theatre.

Watch Paul Greenberg (follow him on Twitter @pgreenbe), one of the early adopter who mapped out the CRM space gives a succinct overview of what’s happening in the Social CRM space. He points out the two converging forces ’social’ and ‘CRM’ spaces that are coming together, yet the third force, ‘companies’ themselves aren’t yet ready for the internal changes that are coming. I picked this video and post up at Jeremiah Owyang’s blog, one of my favourite mentors in the web strategy world.

Brent Uncategorized