By Bob Speyer, Web Success Team –  

We’ve all been there… on the short end of a frustrating customer service experience. Calling to lodge a concern or better yet a complaint? Going into voice mail hell or bounced from one prompt to the next only to arrive full circle to the beginning menu of options. Feeling “out of options?”

One of my top ten customer service peeves was when a rep asked me, “How do you spell Bob!” At that point, I courteously said “I’ll find out and get back to you!” A graceful exit, if I do say so.

How Businesses Are Leveraging Twitter 

More and more people are going on social platforms like Twitter to voice complaints. Smart businesses are taking notice and mitigating damage control by engaging customers and taking care of their problems immediately. It’s simply smart business to show customers they care about their problem and experience. All consumers want to have a sympathetic response to a problem. Through timely care and attention, a disgruntled customer can become a loyal advocate for a brand and continue buying and chatting to their friends about their positive experience.

A study done by Simply Measured showed that 99% of brands are on Twitter, and 30% of them have a dedicated customer service handle. The average response time was 5.1 hours with 10% of companies answering within an hour, and 93% of companies answering within 48 hours. We are getting to the point that if companies don’t answer, it’s a black mark against them

Companies that Get IT Right!

1. JetBlue is super-responsive to customers that mention them. Within one hour, they send a public @reply or a private DM to answer their question (or complaint). The BIG Takeaway is “Rapid Response.” Also, have a plan in place for crisis management in case you are overwhelmed by inquiries… like bad weather delays in JetBlue’s case.

2. Comcast is “technically” doing it right. Most tweets are for technical assistance, so Comcast has a team of technicians who tweet out troubleshooting answers to technical questions quickly and accurately. The BIG Takeaway: Quick responses without the correct answers are like no response or akin to voice mail hell.

3. Chase takes social care to another level. Customers can go to their Twitter page and actually see the person they are talking to, creating an intimacy that gets lost on a phone conversation.  Customers return to ask for Tim or Sally who already knows their problem. Their customer service rep can then tap into a team at Chase to mitigate the problem or find a solution to a customer concern. The BIG Takeaway: You are in the people business, so be respectful, helpful and create a sympathetic connection with the customer.

Setting the Tone

In the final analysis, social media customer care represents a growth opportunity for businesses to cultivate and strengthen customer relationships. If businesses aren’t engaging customers through social media during the entire product life cycle… someone else will.