Last evening’s #bizforum Twitter debate focused on the impact of social media-powered customer service on the business. We saw an excellent exchange on both sides of the various resolutions that were being debated but one had the community divided more than others: how does a brand close the Twitter-loop on a customer service issue?
The assertion was most businesses who respond to customer complaints on Twitter do so with the standard: “we hear you…we’re sorry…call us and we’ll take care of it for you” message. We’ll assume for a moment that most of these issues are resolved satisfactorily offline, yet how many customers then take to the Twitter stream to publicly acknowledge their satisfaction? A quick survey revealed the answer: very few and even fewer indicated that the businesses solicited or encouraged positive commentary online after said resolutions.
As outlined in my last post The Short Sightedness of Customer Service, the resulting online paper trail only tells half the story: customer complaints and your acknowledgement of their complaint. What about the resolutions? Without them, what’s the lasting impression of your efforts? How do you show competency – both in your customer service efforts AND your brand’s products/services through online customer service engagements?
Some participants argued that broadcasting your accomplishments in satisfying customers’ complaints is contrary to accepted social media etiquette, which dictates you don’t promote or brag – you focus on the customer and what’s important to them.
And while I agree with the premise, don’t such social media niceties ultimately impact the brand negatively by portraying only half the engagement? If customers are free to comment & complain about our products and services online, surely businesses must be allowed to promote successful resolutions in those same channels when the customer fails to do so?
Is it not the customer service, marketing or PR team’s role to create a positive impression about the brand and its competency?
What do you think? Is this a true catch 22…damned if you do, damned if you don’t? What are the available options? Share your thoughts and experiences below.
Sam Fiorella – Sensei
Feed The Community, Not Your Ego
Feed The Community, Not Your Ego
