I am grateful for my friends and colleagues who send me fascinating examples of good and bad customer service. Yesterday I received an email from a friend who said, “Here’s a really cool rant on the power of twitter as a customer tool and how one company, from the top down, reacted.”
This lead me to a blog article written by Bob Lefsetz which you can read here: Twitterific
Lefsetz’s article spells out a situation that you may be facing today as you try to compete for customer dollars with holiday season specials. Any time a new sales incentive begins, you run the risk of customers finding out about those specials BEFORE your sales team is up to speed. You do your best to come up with a promotion that will attract and delight your customers. You go through the time and expense of marketing the promotion and then when a potential customer decides to go for it -if you’re not prepared – the system can break down.
The breakdown could be due to temporary staff that doesn’t know how to properly process the order, or a promotion gets out before your website is properly tested and ready to take orders, or any number of unanticipated issues. Potential customers aren’t likely to go through the frustration of sorting through your system breakdown. They’re much more likely to move on, while chalking up the bad experience as the fault of an uncaring company.
The sad fact is, you will probably never know about your customers’ frustrations, or the lost business, unless, of course, you have a Gladys. Those fantastic Gladys’s in the world are customers who won’t go away without making some noise. And one of the tools Gladys uses is Twitter.
Smart business owners monitor the twitter stream and make it easy for customers to find them. In Lefsertz’s case, he tweeted the CEO of the company he was trying to do business with and received a response in minutes! He was able to make his purchase and received stellar follow-up after the sale.
Companies that notice and respond to negative customer tweets gain a wealth of information that can prevent potential sales from disappearing. While some business owners find twitter a bit threatening, it’s a useful tool that can be used to sidestep problems that could otherwise grow.
Responsiveness to the twitter-stream gives you the opportunity to make instant course adjustments and delight upset customers, turning them into vocal advocates. And a happy Gladys can become a beacon of sales for your company.
What do you think? Are you taking full advantage of the opportunities that social media sites like twitter give you to respond to customer service issues? How can you turn Twitter into a support tool for your business?
Marilyn Suttle is the co-author of the best-selling customer service book, “Who’s Your Gladys? How to Turn Even the Most Difficult Customer into Your Biggest Fan.” She is president of Suttle Enterprises, a personal and professional growth training firm through which she has taught thousands across the country how to have happier, more productive relationships with customers, coworkers, and even their children. You can reach Marilyn at Marilyn@MarilynSuttle.com. Have you purchased your copy of “Who’s Your Gladys?” Find it at local book stores or at any online bookseller.
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