Determining customer value once used to be a pretty straightforward process. You figured out how much that customer spent with you, on average, and ranked him or her against other customers. Thanks to social media, however, this process has become far more complex.

Today, a customer who doesn’t spend very much money with a company but has a powerful social media presence and is vocal about any interactions she does have may very well be of a higher value than a customer who simply spends more. It’s a phenomenon that has arisen out of – and can be managed by – the idea of social CRM, or social customer relationship management.

Customers today can broadcast their opinions and experiences to a wide network of friends and acquaintances and thus wield considerable power over a brand. Companies that ignore these brand promoters – or brand detractors, if the experience was negative – do so at their peril. Companies, generally through their contact centers or marketing departments, have had to sharpen their reaction time, ensuring that social media posts that affect their brand don’t go ignored. For companies that do it right, there are significant opportunities in sales and marketing. Those that get it wrong can risk spreading the damage of a negative interaction.

According to a recent Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert) report, “Integrating Social Media into CRM,” customers who are active in social media are seeing their influence rise. Nielsen’s Global Trust in Advertising report, meanwhile, found that customers are increasingly placing their trust in recommendations from friends and family, and are being influenced by brand-related social media posts more than any other form of advertising.

Too many companies, however, are still looking at social media as a function of the marketing department. While social media management can certainly yield plenty of benefits for sales and marketing, without social CRM being firmly integrated into the contact center, they are not able to take advantage of social media in a real-world context. Social media needs to become another channel in the contact center mix, since an increasing number of customers, particularly younger customers, are using channels such as Facebook, Twitter (News - Alert) and others to contact companies or complain. According to Frost & Sullivan, they are also engaging with other customers and companies on social community collaboration sites, which enable customers to build their social influence.

Companies that choose to be a passive observer to this process rather than an active participant risk their customer relationships. They are also missing out on critical opportunities to build customer value and boost customer engagement.