Tag: CRM

People Just Doing Twitter Right

We often get caught up on the “How You Need to do blah blah blah” and the “100 Things You’re Doing Wrong” or “Biggest Social Media Fails of the Week” type posts. Eh, it’s the internet. We thrive on the wrongdoings of others. I’d like to take a moment, though, to spotlight some people that I think are just doing things damn right.

Joel and the team at Buffer

ImageNot only are these guys super quick to apologize and address any concerns you bring up, they always give off the feeling that they’re genuinely good people. For example, I recently posted a tweet, simultaneously hailing their success with the recent update, while also lamenting that I was seeing posts in LinkedIn groups beginning with RT. My concern was that people weren’t editing posts to properly reflect each platform Buffer posts to, and that Buffer would get a bad rep for helping create spam in groups. I quickly received a response from the @Buffer handle, signed off by Carolyn, their Chief Happiness Office (love that they do that, I’ve also seen other folks chime in with that account, too.). Moments later, Joel Gascoigne, Founder and CEO of Buffer also reached out to me to discuss how we they could improve the product. With over 20k followers, he’s still jumping into conversations, and graciously listening to people in order to make the product better for their customers. Not too shabby. Over a million users and the CEO is still involved hands-on, startup style. Does that make me happier that I use their product? You bet it does. I also recommend checking out their blog for lots of great information, if you haven’t already.

Warby Parker

WarbyParkerI just recently had my first experience with Warby Parker when I was informed that they let you have pairs of glasses sent to your home to try on. The magical revelation blew my mind (I haven’t replaced my glasses in 10 years, ok?).  I’d often peruse the selection at my optometrist when getting my contact prescription, but never really found anything I liked. This, though. This was awesome. When my glasses arrived, I was geeked. I tried them all on (and was glad I did, because some came out very different looking than the “upload your photo” option online), and followed WP’s instructions. They actually encourage you to post a photo online to get your friends to vote. It doesn’t stop there, though. Since I tagged them on Twitter, they jumped right on the conversation. More than that, they took the time to narrow down the pairs I ordered and gave me a vote of their own. That’s really taking customer service to the next level, with a side of flattery to sweeten the deal. I’m typically a supporter of small, local optometrists, but this kind service definitely has me eyeing this new pair of frames from Warby Parker.

Coolhaus ATX

CoolhausThese guys are just so much fun to talk to, and their style is a perfect fit for Austin. First off, I discovered their ice cream sammie goodness a few months after I moved to Austin. We didn’t have such glorious food truckage where I lived previously. I must say, it was love at first bite. Unique ice cream flavors wedged between two large, fresh-baked cookies, wrapped in an edible wrapper. It doesn’t get much better than that. When you tweet about it to @CoolhausATX, they’re on it to ask what you had and if you loved it. If you mention a craving, they’re quick to tell you that they’d love to see you stop by, wherever they happen to be. If you follow them on Twitter, they even offer an ever changing #HAUSpwrd to get yourself $1 off. The sandwiches are $5, but they’re a welcome cool treat in the Austin sun. Couple great treats with great treatment, and you’ve got a combination that will keep me coming back.

These are, of course, just a few examples, but I’m a sucker for good customer service. In the current climate of faceless social media automation and lackluster customer service skills, it’s always refreshing to see someone doing it right. I recommend all three of the above.

Who would you add to this list? Share your customer service superstars in the comments below.

Now go get your social on!

What Yelp’s New Mobile Reviews Capability Means

Yelp-logoWith their latest 7.0 app update, Yelp asks you to sit down, because this one’s a biggie. In their words you can now “visit any business page, tap “add review” and go bananas.” That’s right―Yelp has added the ability for your customers to write a review in the moment, on their mobile device, via the Yelp app. Please, ladies and gentlemen, don’t go bananas. Yelp responsibly.

A few things that this could mean:

  1. Optimist – More happy Yelpers will more readily share their opinions with local businesses due to the easy nature of typing up a short but sweet review on their mobile device. (bring on the Autocorrect typos.)
  2. Pessimist – Open the flood gates of angry people. Hell hath no fury like a mobile Yelper. Now that people can easily leave reviews in the heat of the moment, without first cooling down and hopefully rationally approaching a situation (or forgetting about it entirely), 1-star review hell will break loose.
  3. Realist – There will likely be some occasional anecdotal instances of both the above, but largely things will remain the same. Elite and consistent Yelpers will continue writing their reviews, possibly more often since they can do so immediately. You may see more people hanging around the table or salon, tip tapping away their experience into their phone, but I don’t expect to see a massive influx of changes to reviews.

Here’s what it should not mean, however. All business owners should not encourage their employees to download the app and write bogus reviews for their business. I have no doubt that Yelp has thought this through, being that it’s taken this long for them to add such functionality to their app, and have put some sort of safeguards in place (geo-tagging or GPS functionality, perhaps?). Don’t be that business. It always turns out badly.

What do you think of this new, obviously overdue addition to the Yelp app? Good, bad, ugly? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Now go get your social on!

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Keeping Customers In a Short Attention Economy

Facebook, addiction, Internet Addiction Disorder, attention span, case study
“Attention span of a goldfish” just became a compliment…

Customer attention spans are becoming shorter and and more thinly spread as each new gadget, network and mobile device hits the market. You cannot simply hope that a customer will get over a bad experience and continue doing business with you because it’s too much hassle to search out other options. It’s so easy now for people to find your competitors’ presence online and seek them out, quickly forgetting that you ever existed. Let’s be honest, they can and will do it from their mobile device, while they’re still inside your business. If you’re especially unlucky, they’ll leave you with the parting gift of an awful online review. I’ve discussed tips on diffusing that kind of situation here.

The answer is moderately simple, but is never easy. There’s an age-old remedy to keeping your customers’ attention, maintaining their loyalty, and adding value to your product or service. Two words: Customer Service.

As social media ROI is becoming more evident (thus getting more SMBs to begrudgingly establish an online presence) it’s even MORE important to maintain focus on face-to-face customer service. As potential customers find you online and give your business a try, you’ll need to make sure their experiences keep them coming back. If the service isn’t there, all your digital efforts are for naught. So very often, in the reviews that I work on for clients, I’ve seen people say something to the effect of “the food/product/work wasn’t that great, but the service was fantastic. That’s the only reason I’d give this place another try.” I also often see, “The food/product/work was great, but I can find that somewhere else. It’s not worth putting up with the awful service I received.” Rarely do I see people state that they’d come back because the product is so good, even though they felt mistreated or received poor service. We intrinsically hold high value on how we’re treated at a business, even though the product is likely what brought us there in the first place.

If your business is providing fantastic customer service, this gives you a bartering tool with an unhappy customer, and may help you keep them from never returning. You can try to fix the product that they didn’t like. You can ensure them that it will be better next time, and they may take your word for it. It will likely be a lot tougher to convince someone that they’ll receive better service next time. Poor service really sticks with people.

A great product can bring people through your front door, but great service is what’s going to keep them there and create loyalty. It even adds an intangible value to your product. It’s important. If you can’t provide great service to your customers, hire someone to do it for you. It’s worth every bit you invest into it.

Do you have any customer service success stories, on either side of the experience? Have you experienced a missed opportunity by a business that led to you seek out their competitor(s)?

Let me know below with your comments.

Thanks for reading. Now go get your social on!

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