Online help systems and social media customer service: choice and usability

Social media are said to be great for customer service purposes. And many companies do have a social media presence to service their customers. I guess you know the names of those that do it successfully on Twitter, for instance. 

Last week-end I noticed a tweet from someone asking for help from a well-known software company by tweeting that he needed support and stating why, using the @company.

I asked him – via Twitter – to tell me if the company would answer. Later he tweeted me that they didn’t but that they helped him elsewhere online. Today I read that the company did help him via Twitter. So, kudos to the software company.

However, this small story made me think. I know how frustrating it can be if you have a problem with the software you rely on everyday, and I can be extremely impatient to get help then myself. 

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Social media marketing, choice and Starbucks

I have been working all day on a content marketing and social media marketing document.

I was thinking about a way to say why it’s important to offer people a choice of ways to connect with a business.

Choice is so important but it’s also a necessity: if your business only uses a few interaction channels (I avoid communication channels on purpose), you just don’t connect with everyone and you’re not there where your customers, prospects or brand lovers are.

It’s simple mathematics.

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