HootSuite Makes Social Play with SugarCRM Integration
Ever since its purchase of Seesmic last year, social relationship specialist HootSuite has worked to boost its enterprise appeal by integrating its software with popular enterprise CRM applications like Salesforce.
Today HootSuite announced its latest integration, with SugarCRM, a customer relationship management tool that earlier this month received $40 million in private equity funding from Goldman Sachs.
The integration occurs through an app developed by InsightfulCRM, a SugarCRM preferred partner. The app may be purchased through HootSuite's App Directory, a collection of 60-plus extensions and applications that HootSuite users can add to their dashboard to create a customized experience. It costs $4.99 a month, although it is free for HootSuite Enterprise clients.
Using the app, sales and customer support personnel can create SugarCRM Leads and Cases based on social media messages found in their HootSuite dashboards, then assign and share them with the appropriate teams for follow-up.
“Businesses are really starting to see the benefits of using social media to enhance customer engagement and reap the benefits of social selling,” said Gregory Gunn, HootSuite's vice president of Business Development. “This new integration allows business teams to better follow up with social media leads, nurture relationships in real-time and close deals easier than ever before.”
According to Gartner, the CRM market grew 12.5 percent last year, three times the average for all enterprise software. And interest in social CRM was a major growth driver. IDC pegged CRM software growth at 7 percent for 2012.
Pedro Hernandez contributes to Enterprise Apps Today, and 11Press, the technology network. He was previously the managing editor of Internet.com, an IT-related website network. He has expertise in Smart Tech, CRM, and Mobile Tech, Helping Banks and Fintechs, Telcos and Automotive OEMs, and Healthcare and Identity Service Providers to Protect Mobile Apps.
