Social CRM & Mobile Care

Earlier this year, Facebook (News - Alert) acquired the Instagram mobile phone app for a cool $1 billion. The monstrous deal perked the ears of investors everywhere who were keenly aware after the transaction just how much opportunity the social CRM and mobile care market offers.

The hefty price tag (News - Alert) also has caused some social CRM companies to incorporate the popular photo app into their latest product lineup.

While mobile care is nothing new, the transaction served to reignite passion in venture capitalists everywhere to the real potential of this market. According to an article featured at CRM Buyer, CB Insights CEO Arnand Sanwal says that once Instagram was snatched up for $1 billion, it became crystal clear that mobile advertising, analytics and technology pave the way of the future.

Per CB Insight’s most recent VC trend report, venture capital investments into mobile technology increased from second to third quarter of this year by 45 percent. This year’s third quarter was also up by 75 percent over the same period last year.

The end result is that many new social CRM and mobile care applications are being developed and tested, which could be available everywhere over the next couple years. Sanwal says that while there are certainly some decent social CRM apps accessible online, the availability of mobile apps that provide mobile care CRM solutions is lacking.

However, investments in this area have continued to surge as mobile phones become exceedingly more popular.

The type of companies receiving funding reveal a lot about the perceived value of social CRM and mobile care in the years ahead. Popular right now are online mobile advertisements and mobile analytics companies. StrikeAd mobile promotions were developed two years ago by Alex Rahaman and have obtained million-dollar investments from around the globe.

Mobile analytics firms like Flurry are also attracting generous funding, with the most recent coming in at $25 million.

In addition, Hold-Free Networks has bundled an innovative suite of cloud applications for global enterprises aimed at providing social CRM and mobile care to customers on the go. With features like Hold-Free service, which allows access to customer service offerings with one simple Smartphone button, consumers receive a call from agent support once someone becomes available without having to track down phone numbers, or forever sit on hold.

Hold-Free also has created the ability to quickly capture and route customer service feedback to social media departments and other teams which can immediately take action. And, the company’s Secure App Messaging feature allows customers to receive targeted offers, fraud alerts, and feedback via a safe, personalized channel that even incorporates voice biometric technology.

The mobile market is on fire right now, and as Sanwal pointed out, investments in mobile CRM solutions are only slated to increase, especially as the members of today’s workforce, including those in sales, continue to go mobile.

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