I do sort of disagree with you in that I don't think “selling” as you describe it deserves so much influence. In a transactional universe, certainly. But in my organization where we emphasize relationship building, we're all about increasing loyalty, up-selling, cross-selling, getting feedback, getting referrals AND hoping to generate positive word of mouth.

I'll be reading…

Glenn

As you translate your posts into english, I'll do the same for my comments.

There is a problem of definitions concerning the term 'Social CRM' and also with the way some Software Companies are hijacking it to mean what they try to flog (like a SFA with Web 2.0 tech which they then redub as SCRM).

The real potential of Social CRM lies in the way it could be a change agent for putting an organisation on the path to a Social Business Strategy, namely to become customer-centric and improve the customer experience.

This strategy requires that we admit that the balance of power has shifted from the company (who in the past would manage the message that they wanted the customers to hear), to the customers (who are have conversations about your company and the merits of its brand, its products and services), from you selling to them to they buying from you. This is a subtle difference but may require a major shift in mindset.

To come back to the links you mention, you should re-read Axel's blog in the light of the comments that follow the original post, and which can be found here in “Is Social CRM a Dead End”: http://bit.ly/7Mmthf …

I have also written a post about the way we could be “Rethinking Sales in a Social CRM Strategy”: http://bit.ly/6KSHTA
En tout cas, Social CRM n'est surtout pas le spamming

One thing that is for sure is that Social CRM is not about spamming your customer database through Social Media.
See you at Harry's!