Does Twitter have traction in the business world as an important customer service tool? New research gives some insight.
If increased use of the social media site is any indication, yes, Twitter is a respected source for customer service help from companies. In 2009, just 1% of customers used Twitter for service. In 2011, 19% of customers used it, according to a Forrester Research study.
Of course, Twitter’s restriction to 140 characters per tweet can hamper any customer service rep who wants to be thoroughly helpful.
These tips can help when hampered by the brevity of Twitter:
- Be fast. You may not have enough characters to respond fully to customers, but you can make a good impression by responding with something in five or fewer minutes (which is what customers pretty much expect anyway).
- Expand elsewhere. If you can’t give a full answer in a follow-up tweet, refer customers to an email address or a web page link that will fully answer their questions.
- Get as widespread as possible. You can avoid a lot of tweets and other requests for answers and solutions if you use the speed and brevity of Twitter to let customers know about problems, updates and/or solutions before they start asking.
