Monday, June 27, 2011
Don't Call Us- We'll Tweet You
A recent blog posting on Adage.com calls out the fact that only 3 Fortune 50 companies have a phone number listed on their homepage. This despite the fact that 82% of Americans report they've stopped doing business with companies with poor customer service. Yet 44% of Fortune 50 companies have social media links on their homepage. With the constant influx of new technology and the buzz around social media, marketers tend to forget that often what customers most want to be able to do is just pick up the phone and talk to an actual person. While it's great that all of these companies are embracing social media, this should only be a complement to, and not a replacement for traditional customer service, in which you actually hear a person's voice. Thoughts? Do you think that contacts through social media will one day replace the phone?
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1 comment:
Lenore,
As mentioned in the Managing Marketing Programs course by Julie Cottineau,the VP Brand at Virgin USA,social media is a great way for getting some customer service attention. In fact, by writing in Tweeter a negative comment on the brand you will most probably get several emails and even a phone call!! Honestly, customer service is terrible in most companies and nobody enjoys talking to a machine and waiting in the phone so tweeting can be a great solution. Companies are terrified of the comments people post online since they can be read by anyone and most likely spread. In the old days, when you got frustrated with the machine giving you options in the phone you could just shout on your own and nobody would hear you. Now it's great, you just write it online and you get an email minutes after...
Anyway, I understand your point since some people are not technology friendly and prefer to speak to an actual person. As well, companies face the biggest challenges since there are no rules online and probably the customer service department will have to restructure to fit to modern times.
I think it will not be long before social media replaces the phone. This option is more comfortable, its quicker and if needed can be combined with customer service via phone.
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