Microsoft announced that the will include Social Listening & Analysis. This will allow both small and large companies to be aware of, and listen to, what is happening across social media and news channels, and then analyze that information so they can monitor sentiment, track trends, identify advocates (or opponents), and take action.
Here are 3 reasons why Dynamics CRM Social Listening will be better than the competition:
1) Sentiment Not Lost In Translation
Have you used an online site to translate an email? I have and it makes my relatives in Europe howl with laughter, because the translation is sometimes close but not quite, and other times is dead wrong. Translating short social media messages, which are usually packed with as much meaning as possible in 140 characters, is even harder.
What is unique about Microsoft Social Listening (acquired last year from NetBreeze) is that it is done in five native languages. This is a huge differentiator for Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
For example, to analyze a Tweet, most competing systems need to translate to English first, then re-translate back to the local language. And a lot is lost in translation.
To illustrate, told how Coca-Cola accidentally called a customer a retard. It turns out that the word “retard” was not intended as an insult – it means “late” or “delayed” in French, but the damage was done. One little word, translated wrong, shut down an entire advertising campaign.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Social Listening monitors mentions of brands and products on social media, then analyzes the data with natural language processing to determine the type of sentiments being expressed.
Local sentiment analysis in Microsoft Dynamics CRM means a higher degree of accuracy, and in a social world, where one customer can make or break a brand in one day, accuracy is key.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM will offer revolutionary listening ability over a broad range of social channels. Kirill Tatarinov, President of Microsoft Business Solution, said in a press interview during Convergence 2014, “It is revolutionary listening across a broad range of social channels. It supports 5 languages and no one else is doing that.”
2) Available Across the Organization
When Social Listening is released in Spring 2014 it will not be limited to just the marketing users of Dynamics CRM. Microsoft wants it to impact the whole business. How can multiple teams within the organization use Social Listening?
- Marketers can track brand sentiment, identify influencers, and watch trends that impact their marketing efforts.
- Salespeople can track prospects and watch competitors to take advantage of opportunities quickly.
- Customer care reps can monitor social media to proactively identify issues and reach out to customers at the critical moment when they are deciding to remain loyal to the brand, or not. (I am sure most of us have heard of the “” debacle, but there are also stories of using social media).
But will the tool be easy enough for everyone to use?
According to Jennifer Pollard, Director of Product Marketing, Microsoft, “From a usability point of view we have gotten rave reviews. Some competitor offerings are very complex; getting information that you need out of them, or having the ability to go in and look at a report if you are not the one who originally wrote it up, can be very challenging. We are trying to make [social listening] accessible to everyone. “
3) Included At No Additional Cost
According to the official , “Breaking from industry norms, Microsoft believes that social capabilities are core to customer relationship management, so they should not be limited to an elite few at high costs.”
In Spring 2014 all Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online users with the Professional License (in companies with 10 or more users) will receive Social Listening at no additional charge. Professional licenses will remain at the $65 per user per month price point. This means Microsoft will add more value for the same price. That in itself beats the competition.
Customers using Microsoft Dynamics CRM on-premise can add Microsoft Social Listening for $20 per user per month for licensed users of CRM Professional CALs.
Jennifer Pollard asked: “Could small companies use our competitor’s products? No, they couldn’t pay for that. These companies are charging huge amounts for social listening tools and those tools are then relegated to just a few people in the organization. So it is a much different approach than we at Microsoft are taking.”
Read: New Microsoft Dynamics CRM Pricing Coming Spring 2014
Now is the time to start listening, and soon Microsoft Dynamics CRM will make it even easier for you.
By CRM Software Blog Editors, Find a Dynamics CRM Partner
