With spending on customer service processes and applications to assist sales expected to exceed $1Billion globally this year (Gartner Research),  the hype around Social CRM software is over and  companies are rolling up their sleeves and getting down to business.   While B2C markets have seen the biggest adoption of social CRM, B2B businesses are now aggressively investing in social.  By the end of 2013, it is predicted that organisations using social CRM applications will increase to 25% of all projects worldwide (Forbes).

However marketers should be wary, while the market is assured to grow during the next two years, the ultimate success of social CRM will come down to how well businesses and social CRM technologies can make social developments more than just ‘engagement’ objectives and actually tie social activities within the overall business objectives.

To ensure success with Social CRM, businesses need to focus less on how they can manage the customer and more on how the customer can manage the relationship.  If the customer doesn’t perceive a benefit, communities and social networks die equalling in the lost of benefit to the business using the social CRM applications.

A successful social CRM strategy must move with the constantly evolving social media world, for that reason it’s fundamental to review how much ‘relationship’ control you are ceding, how you will involve staff in the effort and which goals take priority.

Find out more about how B2B businesses are implementing social media into their marketing strategies at this year’s Social Media World Forum.  The event has an entire day dedicated to Social B2B and Enterprise with speakers from LinkedIn, Ecademy, Bupa, Virgin Atlantic,  EDF and more.