Want to know what customers think about a company? Try Googling the company’s name along with the word “sucks.” Or create a Google alert that will notify you when it’s being mentioned online. Better yet, make use of the scads of social Customer Relationship Management (CRM) analytic tools on the market today that can give detailed insight into consumer sentiment toward a brand depending on specific demographics, suggests Todd Weiss for CIO.

Not only will you have a much better sense of what your customers want, but you’ll be able to respond using customer service through social channels. Also, information gleaned through social media analytics can be brought into product development.

“The social customer expects brands to be present and active in the same social venues where she hangs out, listening to her feedback, whether it’s negative or positive,” writes Maria Ogneva, director of social media analysis platform Attensity, for Mashable.

Tech analyst Brent Leary, as part of a piece he wrote for Inc., interviewed experts who said social CRM is going mainstream. John Bastone, global product marketing manager for customer intelligence for SAS ^[1], said, “As social becomes an integral channel, and as insights on who matters, and who doesn’t become quantified, handling this efficiently becomes of paramount importance.”

Bastone referred to this as a “Reese’s Moment.” “Do you recall those commercials, which showed some event where peanut butter and chocolate were combined for the first time?” he says. “‘Two great tastes, that taste great together?’ That’s a good analogy for what’s happening behind the scenes in organizations today.  Combine social media chatter with website visits and see how social strategies drive traffic.  Combine real-time social sentiment with real-time stock price to understand how social media is immediately shaping corporate outlook.  Correlation is on the menu for 2011.”

Read more at CIO ^[2], Mashable ^[3], and Inc ^[4].