All a Flutter About Twitter?
October 02, 2009Featured Commentator: Andrea Ayers, President, Customer Management
As I write these lines, tens of millions of devoted social media fans are tweeting on what they had for breakfast, when they will visit the dentist, and which celebrity will be eliminated next on ABC-TV’s “Dancing with the Stars.”
Of more immediate interest to me, others may be commenting on a recent customer experience. Given the power of social media and the geometric range of networked multicasting capabilities such as re-tweeting, the question on my mind is: What, if anything, can or should companies do about the potential crossover between social media and customer relationship management?
Make no mistake: Social media is here to stay and is already being put to work with great success on the marketing side. Business Week notes (“The Great Trust Offensive,” September 28, 2009) that large enterprises from airlines to cable TV and manufacturers now make effective use of Twitter and Facebook “to generate a firehose of messages” about their products and services. A major car manufacturer credits social media, combined with a new down-to-earth ad campaign, for helping fuel a 1% market share gain, lower dealer incentive payments, and higher ARPU – remarkable achievements in a year that has been tough on that sector.
But when social media crosses over into the customer care arena, the wicket gets sticky, so to speak. Customers can and do tweet and blog about good or bad experiences with companies – as is their right. Beyond keeping an eye on what customers say, should companies take a direct role in interacting with customers via social media?
One school of thought is all in favor. Several IT vendors now enable companies to not only monitor customer comments in the blogosphere, but also to intervene in a social media discussion and take direct action to resolve a customer complaint before it is re-broadcast on the Web. Other solutions help a company set up its own wikis, blogs and Twitter pages where customers can directly interact with customer care in a supposedly more “controlled” social media environment.
Favorable customer testimonials on these new ventures in social media/customer care abound. But look closely and you’ll also find comments from customers who found it “creepy” when an agent popped uninvited onto their Twitter home page and took the reins on resolving a problem.
Another perspective: Companies may need to be mindful not to confuse proactive care with out-and-out intrusion. Proactive care solutions such as Intelligent Self-Service (ISS) and Intelligent Notification (IN) act within frameworks that are acknowledged and accepted by the customer. No one ever complains about an ISS response that routes them promptly to the automated or live agent care channel of their preference. Similarly, IN alerts that notify the customer of an airline scheduling change or mobile network outage are appreciated precisely because they meet a need and are expected. Both are examples of smart customer management that build the relationship.
But bursting out of the blue to intervene in a chat between customers? The jury is still out on that one. The coming together of customers online to chat about companies is a reality in today’s marketplace, and will likely increase over time. Companies that try to influence or control the discussion, even with the best of intentions, could see their effort backfire if customers view it as trespassing.
Your thoughts?
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Aaron
04. Oct, 2009
I feel that it is perfectly fine to construct a set of rules and guidelines for consultants to gather information and assist consumers via social network outlets. However, when a company decides to become involved with a site such as FaceBook and Twitter, they need to take into account that consultants have no access to these sites. How can a customer service consultant assist a consumer with a promotion on Facebook when the terms and information can not be accessed at work? One solution may include assigning a couple consultants company accounts that can only be used to access the information and interact and assist consumers. This information can then be passed to other consultants for the consumers who call regarding these issues. Without proper resources and information, consultants are extremely limited in their ability to assist the consumer.
Andrea Ayers
08. Oct, 2009
Thanks for your comment on using social media as a tool for managing relationships with customers. Your suggestion about assigning access to certain customer service representatives that work specifically on social media related inquires is spot on. Many companies have established a formal presence on Facebook and Twitter and have special customer service teams who monitor the sites and respond to customer inquiries. In general, access to these social networks is limited to designated customer service representatives who are trained for monitoring and responding to customer inquiries via these new communication channels. The intelligence gathered by these teams can be disseminated to the rest of the company’s CSR community via training and communications.
We have also found that some companies are setting up their own forums on their company websites to enable customers to post product specific and routine technical support inquires, and have them answered by other users and/or the company’s customer service representatives. We have clients who offer this service to their customers. For some, Convergys representatives are assigned to help respond to customer inquiries.
As the social media revolution continues, more and more routes for two-way communication between a company and its customers will grow. It’s an exciting time.
Other thoughts?