Sanjay Dholakia is Lithium Technologies’ Chief Marketing Officer. He is a frequent contributor in the Social CRM Matters blog on the Lithosphere.     You can follow him on Twitter at @SDholakia   Momentum often speaks for itself, but when peer and industry groups recognize the work, innovation and dedication of the team, then you know that the effort is well placed. So I am delighted to say that last week the Telecom Council honored us with their 'Edison Award for Most Innovative Startup' - also known as a SPIFFY.   Read our press release   Members of the Telecom Council represent 20 of the world's largest and most prestigious carriers, representing over two billion subscribers such as AT&T, British Telecom, Verizon, Sprint, China Mobile, and Vodafone.  The award was presented by Peter Barry of Vodafone at the Telecom Council's annual event in Palo Alto, California.    The voting membership of the Telecom Council's Service Provider Forum (SPIF) reviewed over 100+ start-ups at local Telecom Council meetings throughout 2009.   The competition for these awards is stiff, with all startups and public companies screened by Telecom Council Steering Committees before they are selected to present to the SPIF or other Telecom Council forum meetings.  Startups who present have been identified as having ideas, relevance, and traction that most appeal to carriers and service providers from around the globe.    Here at Lithium, we were fortunate enough to present to to the Telecom Council in December. The Award recognizes the enormous value that this team is creating for the telecom and wireless industry.  This win continues our strong momentum and market recognition.     A few weeks ago, Lithium also was also recognized with the Virtual Event Excellence Award for "Attendee Engagement" from ON24 for our Social CRM Virtual Summit.  You likely have already seen that news release. We won the award alongside IBM, Oracle, and Sodexo.  Discussing the Social CRM Virtual Summit, industry watcher Paul Greenberg noted in a ZDNet post: "Lithium held the First Social CRM Virtual Summit, essentially pulling a coup. "   We're thrilled to receive these awards - and even more thrilled to see the market taking note of the incredible work and effort of everyone here at Lithium.  Congratulations to the team, thank you to the Telecom Council and thank you to Peter Barry of Vodafone who presented us with the award.           Caption: Peter Barry, Vodafone (center) is joined by Greg Joy, VP Sales (left) and Sanjay Dholakia, CMO (right) of SPIFFY winner, Lithium Technologies.     Other Coverage of the SPIFFY Awards http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/02/prweb3650854.htm http://www.techeye.net/mobile/mobile-startups-get-their-own-oscars   ... View more

Sanjay Dholakia is Lithium Technologies’ Chief Marketing Officer. He is a frequent contributor in the Social CRM Matters blog on the Lithosphere.     You can follow him on Twitter at @SDholakia     We see it day in and day out. Put simply Lithium customers have some of the most innovative, powerful, vibrant and useful communities in the industry today.   Their community teams are helping their customers solve problems, create new products, and innovate and engage at entirely new levels. In the process they are helping those organizations realize millions of dollars in savings and creating a huge level of loyalty and customer satisfaction with customers. To recognize the incredible work that these teams and communities achieve, I am very proud to introduce the first ever Social CRM Excellence Awards. So if you are a Lithium customer and you have a great story to tell, you're proud of the impact your community is making, or if it has changed the game for your company, let us know about it. There are five categories that your community can be nominated in:  Best Community ROI Usecase  Most Innovative Community  Best New Community (launched after 1 June 2009)  Best Community Business Integration  Best Community Anecdote or Story   You can enter your community in multiple categories, the only restricted group is our newcomer category - Best New Community. That is restricted to communities that have launched in the last year. All entries will be able to be voted on by you and your industry peers in the Lithosphere - with the finalists and winners announced at our customer conference, LiNC 2010, from May 12-14th in San Francisco. Good luck. You never know - it may just earn you a 'Lithy'! Social CRM Excellence Awards Guidelines: The Social CRM Excellence Awards are open to all Lithium Technologies customers  They are free to enter One submission per category and you can submit an entry to any of the categories Best New Community category is restricted to any community launched after 1st June 2009 Entries will be available to vote in the Lithosphere within 2 business days Last day for entries is 31 March 2010 Last day for voting is 1 May 2010 Finalists will be notified prior to the LiNC conference Winners will be announced at the event   Enter Now! Social CRM Excellence Awards Entry Form or Vote on your Favorite Entries! ... View more

Sanjay Dholakia is Lithium Technologies’ Chief Marketing Officer. He is a frequent contributor in the Social CRM Matters blog on the Lithosphere.     You can follow him on Twitter at @SDholakia     This morning we published a round-up highlighting another record quarter – and over 100% growth for the 2009 (full press release available on the Lithium website ). The year moved so quickly that it’s hard to believe everything that happened.   Ultimately, the success for the year was driven by the incredible work of our customers like HP, Best Buy, Aflac,myFICO, and many others.   A key source of separation for Lithium during the year was that our customers were able to show detailed, specific, and powerful ROI from their engagements with us.   Real numbers such as 66% increases in sales, hundreds of thousands of calls deflected, crowd-sourced ideas yielding $50 million in new opportunities, and SEO improvements of 100% --that’s hard to argue with.   The message from the market was, “other people are trying to sell us software – you are selling us success.” Another key catalyst for growth this year, was, of course, being at the right place, at the right time with the right solution In the middle of 2009, we launched the industry’s first Social CRM Suite and then hosted the industry’s first Social CRM Virtual Tradeshow in the fall.   Customers, prospects, analysts, and vendors all seemed to coalesce around the idea that “customers were in control of the conversation and that enterprises needed to figure out a new way to engage.”   As a result of our thought leadership, CRM Magazine gave us the “ Rising Star Award ” – alongside Facebook and Google – writing, “Amid the hubbub, one vendor keeps popping up: Lithium Technologies.” Finally, our position as the only true SaaS provider in the space served us very well this year from a solution perspective.   We were able to do two things to distance ourselves.   The first was obviously our ability to be able to innovate rapidly and introduce new applications at a speed that other software providers could not – as a result, we ended the year with the broadest and deepest in the industry.     The second was the ability to mine the aggregated data across ALL of our communities for the benefits of all.   The ability to benchmark against others to improve, to detect market trends early, and to ensure that they had access to best practices data across hundreds of companies all served to draw more companies to the Lithium community. We're really humbled by the momentum in 2009 – and really excited about the energy that is building into 2010 – this really does feel like the year that all of this goes truly mainstream. We’re working on some exciting announcements already for this year and look forward to sharing those with you soon.   Here’s to a great year for you.   Looking forward to our work together! ... View more

I just flew back from a quick trip to NYC after presenting at the Web 2.0 conference.   It seemed to be   a great show with a lot of discussion about practical business implications of the social media phenomenon.   My presentation was entitled, “Innovative Analytics: Quantifying the Business Value of Analytics”.      At first, I thought I would just be doing my best Dr. Michael Wu (Lithium’s principal scientist) impression – and, then I thought better of it, recognizing that I didn’t have anywhere near the analytical chops and lexicon to not make an ass of myself.   So, instead, I told stories about our customers while describing Michael and team’s work analyzing Social CRM and customer communities.   Our Customers Rock The audience was great – in particular, it was great to see Lithium customers like Pitney Bowes and HP in the audience.   Even better was that I had already placed their stories in my presentation.   I had no idea they would be there – so that was cool (if I did know, that would have just been pandering…not that I’m above that).     I remember going to a show earlier this year and listening to audience members as questions about ROI and how to measure…and then hearing crickets.   I was standing in the back like that kid from Mr. Kotter’s class thinking “oohh, oohh, call on me” because I knew Lithium customers were driving tremendous results (now that TV reference is really dating me…if you recognize the reference, please leave a comment so that I know that I’m not the only one that old).   It was amazing to be able to tell the audience about real-world, hard-dollar, bottom-line results being achieved by customers like HP, Barnes & Noble, FICO, Pitney Bowes, Future Shop, iRobot, Sage, Intel, AT&T, and Linksys. Based on feedback afterwards, people at Web 2.0 not only loved the stories, but they were amazed at what these companies had done.   Our customers truly rock.   ROI Matters Just the fact that a presentation about quantifying the business value and ROI of social media and Social CRM was on the agenda signaled a maturing of the marketplace.   Companies appeared to recognize in a much more practical way how important ROI was to being successful with their social efforts.   At that same show earlier this year, when asked about the ROI of his social efforts, a very smart marketing executive from a Fortune 1000 company answered, “Well, what’s the ROI of putting your pants on in the morning?   I don’t know exactly the value of it, but I know that it will make a difference to your day if you don’t put them on.”   It got a laugh – but, an uncomfortable one – because, you got the distinct feeling that everyone in the audience thought to themselves, “if I tried to give my boss that answer, I’d be out the door.”   That’s why it was so great to be able to talk at this show about the 120,000 calls deflected every month at Linksys, and the 66% increase in sales at FICO and the 20 point increase in NPS score at Sage.   At this conference, people were asking questions like, “I see the ROI.   Now, how do I get the rest of the organization on board?”   And, practical questions like, “We see the ROI – we’ve already implemented customer community.   But, how do we handle the 1 or 2 vocal, negative people in our community?”   All signals that social media and Social CRM is growing up.   Reputation and Advocates Matter I remember when I first joined Lithium, we talked a lot the importance of “superusers” in customer communities.   We knew that these rare breeds were critical to helping communities thrive – and we knew that reputation management was critical to identifying them and helping them thrive.   And, though we had seen it in practice for years, we seemed to be the only ones talking about these advocates and what they could do for a business in terms of marketing and customer service.   That’s why I was THRILLED to see the presentation that followed mine, entitled: “Marketing via Fan Boys/Fan Girls: Your Customers As Your Brad Evangelists.”     The presentation was co-delivered by Avner Ronen from Boxee (a TV-to-computer service) and Lisa Conquergood of Picnik (an online photo-editing service).   Avner told a story of how they literally sourced fans to staff their physical booth at a trade-show – and Lisa told a story about one fan who was so influential that they actually hired the person.   While they stopped short of quantifying the dollar-value to their businesses, the gestalt was clear – it means real money to a business if you are able to identify and cultivate fans who will espouse, support, and improve your brand and your products.   Great to hear others talk about this very important tenet of Social CRM and social media.   Despite the wear and tear of a cross-country trip for a day and half, I came back really energized thinking that the market is maturing slightly and businesses are waking up to not only to the imperative of social media – but, the gigantic ROI opportunity.   It felt like people – or at least some – had moved on from what I called the “1.0 version of 2.0” which is “how do I get involved in the conversation?” to “how do I drive and measure ROI of my social media efforts?”   That’s good news for everyone.   As a PS to the trip, I was able to see Kevin Ryan, VP of Social Media at Barnes & Noble.   Always illuminating to hear about the progressive things they are doing.   Check out their big news about Nook!   --- Welcome Back Kotter image source (wikipedia): Copyright Warner Bros   ... 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“Please Put Your Tray Tables Up for Takeoff” Q: “Are Customer Communities and Social CRM mission critical?”  A: “Seriously?”   Now, my answer has always been clear – having a business without a website would be crazy – having a business without a customer community doesn’t even make sense.  After attending several conferences this year focusing on everything from CRM to Web 2.0 to Toasters (ok, so I didn’t really go to a toaster trade show), we noticed that any track or presentation that sounded anything like -- “so, how do I engage my customers in this new social world?’ – was completely full.    Companies today have realized that the ‘social revolution’ has long since passed ‘fad’ status and landed squarely in the ‘mission critical’ category.  As one executive said to me, “All I know is that if my prospects and customers aren’t talking to me on the web, they’re probably talking to my competitors.” But, candidly, many we have talked to are asking themselves and their advisors, “But, how should we engage with customers in the social world?”   We asked ourselves whether the time was right for the industry’s first conference completely dedicated to and focused on Social CRM and the Customer Network.    The answer? Tomorrow’s Social CRM Virtual Summit has registered over 2,000 people!  We appreciate that everyone has too much to do and not enough time in the day – that all of these people are willing to register for this maiden flight is a testament to the business value of Social CRM.  We’re grateful for the response.   “The Flight Attendants are here For Your Safety and Comfort” In addition to the overwhelming excitement and response from registrants, we are thrilled about the number and caliber of leading Social CRM companies that are sponsoring this conference.  From our partners at ON24 powering the virtual event platform, to solution providers like Cognizant, LivePerson, Ant’s Eye View, Forum One, and Genesys, to media leaders like CRM Media, leaders from all fields have come together to share best practices and begin an industry-wide dialogue.    At the Lithium booth, for example, you will be able to see the industry’s first Mobile Community Platform.  I’d encourage you to stop by the Exhibit Hall at the conference and have a quick chat with all the sponsors – I guarantee you’ll learn something – I sure did.   “Please Direct Your Attention to the Front of the Cabin” Our only regret is that we didn’t have more keynote time slots available to bring you all of the experts in Social CRM that were interested in sharing best practices with you.  But, the lineup that we do have is nothing short of amazing -- Paul Greenberg from The 56 group (who I think has been called the Godfather of CRM); Mike Fauscette who leads IDC’s Software Business Solutions Group;  Brent Leary, founder of CRM Essentials, analyst, and award-winning industry blogger; Kevin Ryan, VP of Social Media at Barnes & Noble; Bill Johnston of Forum One Communications; and Jeremiah Owyang and Ray Wang of the Altimeter Group.  We’re thrilled – and grateful – that these folks are with us and know that you will find huge value in their insights.   “We Have Reached Our Cruising Altitude” (now I’m really stretching these titles!) One of the wonderful things about the Virtual Summit is the ability to engage directly in conversations with experts and practitioners who can offer practical, real-world results.    Social CRM and Customer Communities are delivering hard dollar value and results to leading companies around the world.  We recently did a survey of CXOs and VPs at companies with more than 1000 employees to ask them what the value of a customer advocate or fan was to their business -- 60% said it over $50,000 per year. Companies that have taken the plunge with Social CRM and Customer Communities are building Customer Networks that have hundreds and thousands of these advocates.   And many of those companies are here to talk to you.  In addition to the Exhibit Hall and the Auditorium sessions,  be sure to visit the Networking Lounge for scheduled chat sessions with leading companies like T-Mobile, National Instruments, Barnes & Noble, Juniper Networks, Redfin, Lenovo, and Best Buy.  There will also be chat sessions with industry luminaries such as Dr. Natalie Petouhoff of Forrester Research, Inc. as well as Lithium product experts.  Come discuss how you might replicate the success that these companies have had with their Social CRM efforts.   “Enjoy Your Stay” Setting aside my contrived flight analogy for a moment, I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who has worked so hard to make this Summit a reality.  A tremendous amount of work has gone into making this first ever tradeshow dedicated to Social CRM a huge success and hugely valuable to all who attend.      Social CRM has truly come of age and is already creating enormous value for companies that are doing it well.  We hope this conference helps you to drive forward your own efforts to create your own Customer Network and harness the power of social customer relationships.   We’re looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!   ... 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