Why are people continuously forgetting customer service
We just finished a series of in-depth interviews with companies who are deploying social media as part of their business processes. Most initiatives were marketing based – and none were focused on deploying social media as part of customer service.
What is wrong with that picture?
Customer service is a perfect place for people to use social media – people love helping others, and at some point in the customer lifecycle, most people need help.
It is also ironic to realize that the biggest brand damage often occurs through a poor customer service experience.
So why are marketers not seeing that as a fertile ground for social interactions with customers and as a way to achieve some big marketing and brand benefits? Is it because marketers have grown myopic and no longer consider customer service as part of the brand experience? It is not because marketers do not actually run customer service that they should not consider it as an important touch-point between the company, the product and the customer. When looking at companies like Zappos or Tivo, where they have turned customer service into their main customer touch point, you realize that even if what you’re after is increased word of mouth or increased sales – customer service may be your best avenue.
Maybe I am just missing something…
Or maybe not – in most companies, customer service is treated as an expense, just like marketing…
It really should be an investment!
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October 22nd, 2008 at 8:53 am
“customer service may be your best avenue”
No, you’re not missing anything. All of the attention is paid to marketing, unfortunately.
October 28th, 2008 at 7:28 am
What about support forums? I know they’re old school but surely they count. Many large companies have communities that focus on troubleshooting.
By the way – did you interview people from the marketing department only, or did you also meet people from the Care / Support / Service departments?
I have a feeling most marketing heads are not even aware of any social media activities that are not paid from their own budgets, even if they are created in the same company.
November 3rd, 2008 at 5:53 am
.. and I would also count reading & moderating your own blog comments as “social media customer service”.
A bit like a pot calling the kettle black, eh?
LOL
November 3rd, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Hi Bob – point well taken. I was out for three weeks, including 10 days back in Belgium with my dad who went through a pretty big and dangerous operation.
So I like to believe that I had a legitimate excuse – although it was just an excuse
Thanks for taking the time to comment on my blog – now returning to best practices in “social media customer service”
June 4th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Great thoughts. Not only is this a customer facing problem but also from a development perspective, where product managers often forget to work closely on building ‘Social’ into their offerings. The ‘wisdom of the crowds’ can usually answer a customer’s question better than most employees…