Since Chatter rolled out external collaboration capabilities this year, organizations have been able to create groups in Chatter feeds that allow internal teams to collaborate on specific topics, projects, or in select teams.

This access to specific information flows has been a key driver in the adoption of Chatter in the more socially-enabled organizations who were first to take advantage of this technology. And now it has improved. Salesforce gives organizations the ability to open Chatter feeds to an external audience too. Here are some examples of where this might work for you:

1. Customer Engagements: If you have a project with a customer, invite them to a closed Chatter group for their eyes only. Collaborate with status updates, meeting agendas and notes, and next steps or project reviews.
2. Complex Sales Cycles: Use to share Non-Disclosure Agreements, Statements of Work, next steps of the sale cycle, and to extend your reach around your prospect organization. In particular, it’s a great tool for inviting your key contacts’ superiors to the group and thus selling further up the hierarchy.
3. Marketing Projects: Teamwork with suppliers is now out-of-the-box simple. Invite vendors swiftly to a Chatter group where you can all share project goals and progress. Work together on documents and ‘follow’ key files as they are updated by different team members either internal or external to your organization.
4. Channel Relationships: If a partner-enabled organization, you now have a unique way of working with your partner channel!

• Use as a partner recruitment tool to demonstrate your level of channel commitment.
• Watch it ‘come into its own’ during the on-boarding and partner enablement phase where you want to share the tools and materials that will help train your partners to be an extended sales team for your company.
• Finally, use the Chatter feed to help with sales engagements, promote joint marketing opportunities, and share success stories, customer references and case studies.

The ‘Customer’ feature of Chatter offers many more ways for social enterprises to come together with those who are important to you and your teams. Who will you collaborate with first?

Learn more about Chatter customer groups in this youtube video. Or, check out a previous blog on how Chatter has transformed the way we work.