Tweeting in Real Real Time
Jetting across the Pacific now, after a great week with some very smart CMO types in Sydney and Melbourne. The Aussies know that with just over 20 million people in the whole country, a company needs to make the most of every customer experience. Here's how one of them is doing it:
Imagine you are standing in queue at your bank branch, already annoyed because of the problem that brought you there in the first place, and now wringing your hands over the length of the line. So you spout off, sending an email to customer.service@NAMEOFBANKHERE -- not even sure anyone will ever see it. In less than 60 seconds, the branch manager comes over to you, pulls you out of the line and just gets right down to solving your problem. The same bank has offered to exchange Twitter followships with customers, so it can catch complaints to friends as they happen and try to fix the problem pronto with a Tweet back or a phone call.
Is this "social networking"? Who cares? It certainly qualifies as meeting the customer on her terms, when she needs it, in her choice of communication media. It tailors the customer service in a way that is powerful and valuable to customers, and doesn't really cost much more than traditional approaches. Not surprisingly, this enlightened bank down under is focused on increasing the value of every customer and especially the value of Most Valuable Customers.
Related Entries
- Guest Blogger Joseph Jaffe: It's Better to Be S.A.F.E. Than Sorry
- Hoffman's Hot Seat: The Chief Customer Officer: Building a Customer Strategy
- Guest Blogger Ralph Heath: What Has Happened to Customer Service in America?
I think its great that the bank is acting so quickly to resolve that one customer's issue. Whenever I read a story like this or hear about the team at Comcast giving high priority attention to a Tweeting customer I find myself wondering about the other 10 people in that bank line, or the hundred other Comcast customer who are going through more standard channels and being told that they will have to wait 4 days for service. Even it they don't express their unhappiness on Twitter, aren't they texting, calling, emailing and even talking face-to-face with friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc about their negative experiences? I feels like the bank has quieted the squeeky Twitter wheel, but maybe done little to actually improve the overall customer experience. Just a concern.
Great post Martha! I've shared with my Twitter followers too.