Do you have a Facebook account? Do you Twit on Twitter? How many links do you have on linkedin? Analysts and industry experts all believe that the social networking phenomenon will be the biggest wildcard in the quest to better understand customer buying behavior. According to a Nielsen Online study, there were more people on using social networking (66.8%) than email (65.1%) at the end of 2008.  The same study claims that users spent 63% more time inside member communities than they did in 2007.

In this CRM eGuide we look at a growing phenomenon called social networking and how it is changing the way companies interact with their customers. Wikipedia defines a social network as a social structure made of individuals (or organizations) called "nodes," which are tied (connected) by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.

This eGuide serves as an introduction to how social networking is shaping the way customer relationships are evolving in the 21st century.