Social networks - the new customer service platform

By Enterprise Innovation Editors | Jul 6, 2009

Companies of all sizes have begun to engage customers and prospects on social networking services. Much of that activity has been pure marketing, but some companies have started to offer customer service and support through social networking. This, according to the Datamonitor's new report ‘The Rise of Social Networking and Emerging Channels in Customer Service’, has started companies thinking of ways to connect their key customer service resource—the contact center—to social networks.
 
Enterprises of all stripes have started to look for ways to market their brands to potential customers through social networks
 
Individuals are constructing elaborate online social networks that in many cases are significantly broader than their real-world equivalents. These exponentially expanding webs of connections lead to viral communications: a customer’s uncommonly good experience with a company is no longer heard about just by that person’s four close friends, but by thousands. The converse is also true, of course, and complaints about products and services go viral very quickly.
 
“Given the boom in popularity of social networks, enterprises of all stripes have started to look for ways to market their brands to potential customers through these services, says Ian Jacobs, senior analyst for customer interaction technologies at Datamonitor and the report’s author. “Whether it is through online contests, coupon and discount offers or just an extended presence to shine positive light on brands, social networking has become a darling of the marketing world.”