Create an Online Customer Service Platform with Two Channels
Customer Service Channel 1: A well thought-out blog
A blog is not just a sophisticated megaphone. If developed and managed well, a blog will serve as the central hub of your digital communication, and will become a two-way dialog between you and your customers.
You can use your blog to facilitate customer service by
Acknowledging issues
Spotlighting areas of improvement
Keeping customers informed of progress
Asking for concerns
Creating an open forum type of customer service
Customer Service Channel 2: A wide-reaching social media platform
Create and use social media accounts that spark and facilitate conversation around your business. Don't just listen - engage. An example of a great tool for local businesses is Foursquare. When combined with Twitter, it is an amazing tool for local businesses to use to interact with customers who are visiting their venues in real time. It's also a great customer service barometer. People who use Foursquare talk about what they like - and don't like - when they "check-in" to that venue on Foursquare. Businesses can review the comments and make faster decisions.
A few of the many uses of social media in customer service are
Localizing and pinning down issues. Using something like Foursquare, you can receive data such as the exact location of an incident and time of day. No more dealing with vague customer service complaints about incidents that happened a month ago. These are real time.
Listening in on the conversation. Using Twitter and the many search tools available for it, as well as Google Alerts, you can keep up with what's being said about you anytime by anyone. You can then address any concerns on your blog.
Practice one-on-one customer service intervention. Businesses are built and toppled one connector at a time. You can identify the biggest influencers and work with them to resolve issues, before they do significant amounts of damage to your brand.
