Social Media: A Customer Support Tool

As more and more businesses hop on to the world of social media we find more and more ways of using this powerful tool.  This tool is not only powerful because of a right now type of gratification, but couple that with your actual reach makes this tool even more amazing.  When we think of “word of mouth marketing” how fast does the word really get around using face to face contact, telephone and email.  But with the rise of social media this type of marketing has been taken to an entirely different level.

But is social media only good from a marketing standpoint?  Can we use social media in other ways?  You most certainly can.  Social media can be used to maintain and manage your brand and reputation.  In order to do this successfully you must be willing to provide a certain level of customer support to your clients and potential clients.  For example, I was reading a post over at SEOmoz regarding customer service and reputation management via social media.  It so happens that one of the members, Rebecca, wrote about her own personal experience with Comcast and twitter.  In her post she mentioned how upset she was with her phone service and tweeted some not so friendly tweets about Comcast, imagine how quickly the retweets and supporters that rallied around her tweet.  To her amazement she was contacted my @ComcastBill to discuss her issue and the matter was solved.  Comcast was not back in good favors.  Comcast was able to rectify a problem quickly and efficiently by keeping tabs on it’s brand and taking action.  For a more detailed case study please visit Customer Service and Reputation Management The Twitter Way: A Case Study for the entire story.

Another example of using Social Media as a customer support tool is my coach and good friend Rhea Brown over @promomblogger.  Rhea spent time observing her industry and learning what problems are going unsolved in her niche.  To solve this problem she would quickly post tutorials to her blog so her clients and potential clients can find answers to their problems.  She responds and communicates directly do her followers on twitter and facebook, as well as those that comment on her blog.  She has certainly put the human role back into the online, and at time automated, community.  For more information on Rhea Brown visit her Business Blog Promomblogger or check out this great interview, Business Owner Spotlight –Meet Rhea Brown, Owner of PMB Media, over at the Examiner.

These are just a few examples on how you can use your social media to enhance your customer service.  This also allows you to keep an eye on your brand and rectify any bad publicity that may come up.  Providing great customer service and support can really enhance your brand, business, and lead to some life changing income.  I for one will follow, and stick with a company that views me as a value rather than a pay check.

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How do you use social media to enhance your business?