Comments on: Is customer service via social media really the answer?

By: Craig McGill

Craig McGill — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:43:23 +0000

Danny, I have to slightly disagree with Ben. For some brands social media could cover their customer relation needs – but at the same time they shouldn't rely on it exclusively because not every customer will be on social media.

I can understand the likes of Vodaphone asking for phone calls because they are dealing with a private issue and making sure they are speaking to the right person is important (it's probably easier for someone to access your Twitter account than to know all the details Vodaphone may ask in a security check) but for issues that don't require too much personal info, then a tweet and a DM may be able to solve the isssue.

By: Is social media overhyped? // Danny Whatmough.com

Is social media overhyped? // Danny Whatmough.com — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 19:10:17 +0000

[...] First, the ‘why do social media’ question. Surely we are beyond this? The ‘maybe brands should just stay away’ argument is naive! Walley brazenly proclaims: “Could Facebook not just be a globally successful communications medium that doesn’t need brands, like the telephone?” As a consumer, I’m damn sure I want brands to be accessible on the telephone and, increasingly, I want them to be accessible on social media too! [...]

By: Danny Whatmough

Danny Whatmough — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 20:47:25 +0000

Thanks for stopping by and commenting Ben. It's certainly an interesting area and it's not all black and white at the moment. Consumer take up of customer service via social media is another very interesting part of the debate. Time will tell…

By: Ben Martin

Ben Martin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 20:20:17 +0000

Hey Danny. This is a great post, and was really interesting to read (particularly because my lowly 3G had its own problems with the OS4 update). Coincidentally, I am currently blogging about Customer Service on Social Media on the C&M (where I am Online PR Executive) site. My latest post on the matter can be found here: http://www.contentandmotion.co.uk/social-media-...

I personally think that although SM offers absolutely fantastic opportunities for customer service (my particular favourite being that it puts the customer back in control of the relationship - as documented in the above post), I agree with you in it not being a catch-all solution. Twitter in particular has its limitations because of the character limit (as you discovered) and Facebook's limitations (as well as the result of most of its criticism) is its privacy settings. If, for example someone wades into a brand's Facebook page to seek help to a problem, how does that brand respond? Publicly through a comment on the post? Possibly but only for general problems. Through a private message sent from one of the page admins? Again, possibly, but means that person then personally opens themselves up to a dialogue that may be better engaged with under a company banner. A dedicated Facebook account could of course be set up for that person to use in such a way, but this is seemingly against FB's shady Ts&Cs

All in all, Social Media should never be ANY brand's (no matter how big or small) only solution to customer service. Although the traditional channels (such as phone or email) have their problems, they are tried and tested and have their unique benefits, as well as their own limitations and problems. Furthermore, the aim of using social media as a customer service tool shouldn't be to reduce call volumes / emails received / vists to the helpdesk / whatever, but rather simply about offering a comprehensive, effective and thorough customer service strategy that helps your customers at every level, across all channels.

By: Tweets that mention Is customer service via social media really the answer? // Danny Whatmough.com -- Topsy.com

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:33:35 +0000

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