Exploring Customer Service Efforts Using Twitter

October 9, 2009 · View Comments

Jason Falls

Today I’m thrilled to present to you the first-ever Social Media Explorer Report. “Customer Twervice: Exploring Case Studies & Best Practices In Customer Service Efforts Using Twitter,” surveys 10 companies using Twitter for customer service and attempts to present insights and best practices for you or your company. The report is free you can download the PDF here.

Customer Twervice

Customer Twervice

My hope is that the information in the report will give you at least some anecdotal research that can help you formulate customer service strategies using Twitter based on the existing best practices and examples from those doing it. The document is certainly not final and as both Twitter and how companies are using it evolve, I’ll revise accordingly. The permanent URL for the report’s home is simply http://socialmediaexplorer.com/customertwervice.

Because this is my rookie effort at writing a report, I’d like to ask for your feedback. Is the report useful to you? Would similar be in the future? I don’t hesitate to admit I’m not trained as a researcher or analyst. There aren’t Forrester-esque graphics and charts here. But I am trained as a journalist and built the report around interviews with people hard at it, actually performing Customer Twervice.

And I would encourage you to join the conversation about the report on Twitter by using the hashtag “#twervice.” I’ll see your comments and questions there and will respond if I can.

Enjoy.

Related articles by Zemanta
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Tagged as: customer twervice, Social Media, Twitter customer service, Twitter for business, Twitter report

Did you enjoy this blog post? If so, then why not:
Leave Comment Below | Subscribe To This Blog | Sign Up For Our Newsletter |


  • Jason:
    The article definitely shed some light on using this service and how to implement as well.
    I was wondering has there been a study done on the infrastructure cost of implementing and maintaining?
  • Good question, Eric. I think (not arrogantly, just from talking to a
    lot of people about it) this report was the first of its kind. I'm
    sure the infrastructure cost analysis has been done on an individual
    company basis, but would also anticipate they aren't really in-depth.

    The key is that the cost is essentially confined to the human resource
    time to serve the customer, plus a nominal cost (if any at all) of
    purchasing a monitoring solution, some of which are free.

    I can tell you that with a client of mine, we did an analysis of the
    human resource time across multiple departments (30K+ employee
    company) and, based on current and short-term projected conversation
    volume of the company on Twitter, we estimated less than 15 hours per
    week TOTAL of man hours to implement and maintain.

    I'd love to hear what other folks have experienced with this, though.
    Thanks for asking.
  • Jason:
    Other than the really lame (sorry) word invention "twervice" this is pretty good. May not be anything incredibly new to those familiar with these brands and or service via Twitter, but, you provide some really useful information for other companies trying to figure out how much time, energy and resources to commit and what they can expect in return. Good stuff. Thanks for sharing.
    Edward
  • Thanks Edward. Twervice might be lame, but if you're gonna do it, you
    may as well own it, right? Heh.

    Very much appreciate the feedback. I hope it helps folks.
  • Jason-
    Great work. A terrific primer for the uninitiated as well as great ammo for those who are looking to build a case.

    One question: any stories that were LESS than successful to add in a voice from the downside? Do you think it's worth it to talk about some stumbles or PR "failures?" Ironically, I had a twitter success as a customer with AT&T that was totally unintended. I aired my frustration on twitter merely as an outlet. The next thing I knew, my problem was solved in about 4 hours.

    Anyhow, great report that reaches several goals. I liken it to a great Bugs Bunny cartoon- kids think it's funny, but adults are in on the joke, too, since it never condescends. As I said at the outset, it's great if you are a twitter ninja, as well as if you're still trying to figure out what the big deal is. Nice job, brutha!
  • Thanks for the feedback. I didn't run across the unsuccessful examples
    because I'm sure they're harder to come by. But those would be
    excellent additions to the thinking. I would guess that failures are
    probably based on the fact that the brands are unsure how to
    communicate with people overall. Those folks aren't likely even trying
    it. And of course, I'm sure we could drum up a dozen or so examples
    really quickly of brands not doing it at all and are failing
    miserably, though it seems those examples quickly get up to part.

    Very much appreciate the feedback. Thanks!
  • Congrats, Jason.
  • Thanks, Patrick. Hope it's good.
blog comments powered by Disqus