Back in 2010, I wrote how Twitter has added value to my life and one of the points was how customer service can be more effective by companies using social media as outposts.
But outposts only work if customers are using social media to seek help or give feedback. Here is how you can be a customer that can influence companies to be better at customer service by using Twitter. I will use my recent interaction with @NissanCanada as an example.
Include Company's Official Twitter Handle
Companies who use Twitter to listen in on conversations will have live feeds of keywords related to their business, but there is nothing like mentioning them in an actual post. For my car service, I searched for Nissan Canada's official handle (account) and mentioned them directly. Some people use hashtags, but the problem with hashtags is that they are user generated and not consistent. Companies may not pick up your creative hashtags. #toocreativetobenoticed
Tweet Specifically the Problem
There is nothing like a customer who vents and no one knows why they are venting. By including the reason, I was able to give the company a way to address the situation. I got a reply back a little over an hour after I posted. Although that may seem long, I was still waiting for service at Nissan so it mattered to me that they responded.
Share the Love
After a couple of direct messages back and forth they asked for the dealership location. At this point my car was ready and I did not think anything about it. However, since my car was ready before noon, the front desk employee being very helpful, and I felt I was heard via Twitter, I decided to tweet some love back. You don't want to leave a negative impression, especially if they have great customer service! I knew Nissan got it because they re-tweeted it to their 3000+ followers.
Be Influential to Begin With
I do not have Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga type of followers, but I do have a good network of people who are influential. If I didn't, I'm not too sure if Nissan would have taken notice. It did help that a friend replied to my tweet and also mentioned @NissanCanada. Thanks friend, you know who you are!
The Result
At the end of the day, I, the customer, was happy, and Nissan got some positive tweets. But what was unexpected was that later on in the day, my local Nissan service center called back and left a message with my wife saying that because of the scheduling delay, they decided that the next time I take my car in for service, they will give the oil change for free (~$40 value). They felt included to add that they decided to give me the free oil change because of my tweet. =D That is a company that goes the extra mile. Thanks Nissan Canada!
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| Photo by Djof |
Include Company's Official Twitter Handle
Companies who use Twitter to listen in on conversations will have live feeds of keywords related to their business, but there is nothing like mentioning them in an actual post. For my car service, I searched for Nissan Canada's official handle (account) and mentioned them directly. Some people use hashtags, but the problem with hashtags is that they are user generated and not consistent. Companies may not pick up your creative hashtags. #toocreativetobenoticed
Tweet Specifically the Problem
There is nothing like a customer who vents and no one knows why they are venting. By including the reason, I was able to give the company a way to address the situation. I got a reply back a little over an hour after I posted. Although that may seem long, I was still waiting for service at Nissan so it mattered to me that they responded.
Share the Love
After a couple of direct messages back and forth they asked for the dealership location. At this point my car was ready and I did not think anything about it. However, since my car was ready before noon, the front desk employee being very helpful, and I felt I was heard via Twitter, I decided to tweet some love back. You don't want to leave a negative impression, especially if they have great customer service! I knew Nissan got it because they re-tweeted it to their 3000+ followers.
I do not have Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga type of followers, but I do have a good network of people who are influential. If I didn't, I'm not too sure if Nissan would have taken notice. It did help that a friend replied to my tweet and also mentioned @NissanCanada. Thanks friend, you know who you are!
The Result
At the end of the day, I, the customer, was happy, and Nissan got some positive tweets. But what was unexpected was that later on in the day, my local Nissan service center called back and left a message with my wife saying that because of the scheduling delay, they decided that the next time I take my car in for service, they will give the oil change for free (~$40 value). They felt included to add that they decided to give me the free oil change because of my tweet. =D That is a company that goes the extra mile. Thanks Nissan Canada!
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