LinkedIn is new form of social networking that connects business-minded people with similar professionals. The goal of this network is to grow a list of “connections” that company knows and trusts in the business world. One benefit of LinkedIn is that you do not have to be a user to become someone’s connection. Other benefits include exchanging information, staying informed and finding knowledgeable people to help companies reach their highest potentials.
LinkedIn can work to provide customer relationship management (CRM) systems options for better customer service. Here are few ways:
- Be Visible: Creating connections with trustworthy people gives companies the opportunity to network. Customers appreciate instances when you can direct them towards other services that are reliable. For example, if you sell a product, but don’t install it, perhaps through LinkedIn you will meet a reputable business that you can refer. This relationship can be reciprocal and in the end, save the customer time and energy.
- Find the Best: Do you have a position to fill and can’t find anyone that fits? Use LinkedIn to find the best employees. Arming the staff with the most qualified personnel offers customers a vast amount of knowledge. Not to mention, costs spent on training new employees can be saved when hiring a candidate already knowledgeable on the expertise being sought for the job.
- Answers: Click on the Answer tab in LinkedIn and select the category that best represents products and services your company offers. Within this section, you may see clients posting questions based on what you sell. Responding not only offers quick and accurate service, but might put you ahead of the competition.
- The Whole Truth: LinkedIn offers blind reference checks. So many times a company only posts positive customer testimonials, and interviewees only share glowing references. LinkedIn reference check tool lets anyone who becomes a user look into the background of someone they are working with. Customers may want to checkout someone from a company they are doing business with to make sure that they are working with the best in the field. Customers want to trust their money with people, and this feature of LinkedIn can help.
- Make a Healthy Choice: Using the advanced search tools and deselecting the “Current Companies Only” box can help customers research the health of a company. Previous employees sometimes write honest opinions of a former company, which may be more revealing than if they still worked there. Also, if employees are leaving in droves, then it might be a good indicator that some area of the company doesn’t function well. In the end, it may be the customers who deal with the trickle-down effect.
- Connections: As with most social networking that is used for CRM, it is all about offering opportunities for genuine collaboration. The Internet has opened many channels for businesses to meet and customers to access companies. When the flow of communication is open, the opportunities are plentiful.
Customer relationship management systems want to make it easier for people to use information for the overall benefit of the client. Having a professional, serious medium to channel data offers companies a way to meet those goals. LinkedIn markets a meeting place for information to be shared and questions to be answered. This may be a good way to network, but it is also a way to provide better customer service. The connections being made on LinkedIn can offer the customer a knowledgeable reference, equipped with the resources to provide the complete package.
