Social Media As A Customer Service Tool

I think a huge opening social media has created is in concierge type services. Someone that is well connected and in the know of a city or market would get a huge following on Twitter. I'm sure there are a few doing that. I just don't know them LOL

There is a business opportunity there for someone to become that concierge and partner with preferred destinations.

The more twitter grows the more useful it is becoming! I have found some GREAT followers and started following people I can help and vice versa!

I think anyone resisting will get left behind!

I don't think I will go team Canada, but you are making a very valid point, Brad. Twitter is so fast! I do go to Twitter lately to get the news. On the other hand, large companies are not that flexible yet. I think your case was an exception.

On the contrary. Many big companies are monitoring twitter search feeds for their name. Many companies have social media managers in place to do just this :)

I agree 100%. Twitter has really been improving their search engine and location based tweet searches. As that increases there is so much potential for companies to utilize this to their advantage.

If only the Vdara hotel watched Twitter lol. Absolutely dreadful experience there and since they don't have their shit together they took a public beatdown.

I hear Best Buy is one of the best at this.

Some companies are probably just scared. I have found that when a good hotel doesn't deliver excellent service, there is usually someone who will make it right for you. My last bad hotel experience was at the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas. I was not impressed so we sent them a letter. All we got back was sorry you had a bad experience.

I've heard that Rogers communications here in Canada is also very good. When I was in Las Vegas recently using location aware iphone apps that post to twitter, the various hotels social media managers would contact me. In some cases I was even sent offers and incentives.

Never before has a marketer being able to speak directly to a customer who is about to enter their competitors business. Imagine waiting in line at a restaurant or club and getting an invitation to a competing location that includes an incentive. That's powerful.

I agree 100%. I think it was you that mentioned something about the Wynn contacting you when you checked in on GoWalla. That was my motivation for trying Gowalla, 4Square and Twitter while I was traveling. The Vdara was suffering new hotel syndrome. The staff was very nervous and unsure of themselves. From house keeping to waiters to managers. I could go on and on. I received two $75 credits. But really that did nothing to win me back. We were staying in their highest end 2 bedroom penthouse and they let us walk away upset never to return. Reality is all they had to do was say we are experiencing growing pains. Let us offer you a night on us on a future trip so we can show you how much we've improved. That would earn them another shot.

I took a chance on them and they failed. Next time they have to take a chance on themselves and see if they can impress me.

Atlantis? LOL I'm not surprised. Service is a foreign concept in the Bahamas. Every friend I have that went to the bahamas without notifying me HATED it. Every friend that let me know ahead of time LOVED It. It makes such a huge difference when you are given the chance to experience the finer things a place or company has to offer. I think with Social media companies have the opportunity to do that. Those that do could see HUGE rewards.

Good tip. Twitter seems a great way to get a company to notice you if your pissed at their service! Case in point, Kevin Smith and SouthWest.

Thanks for your comment Leslie I am not aware of the Kevin Smith case but I will be googling it now :-)

Brad,

I am SO skeptical about social media. I've found traffic from social media like Digg, Twitter and facebook to be very low quality.

However, this is a cool idea you've shared and I might give it a try. Thanks.

Bill

It depends on what you are sending traffic to :-) if it's a sales page yes conversions can be very poor. If it is an article or other information, the quality can be outstanding.

I like to think about social media more like a funnel.

Sometimes Youtube picks the worst images for their video thumbnails LOL. I know I can change it but it's more fun when I look goofy.