Customer Service

Venn Diagram of Samy & Amy Meltdown

Yelp may not be the go-to source for restaurant reviews. Why? Amy's Baking Company has 1131 reviews, 99.9% of which are snarky, mean, negative “reviews.” How many of those 1131 reviewers actually ate at the restaurant and how many just piled on for flash mob social media bashing? 99.9%[read more]

Amy’s Baking Company has been at the centre of one the biggest social media fails of all time. Can businesses recover from such huge social media fails? You simply cannot expect to speak to people like this and expect to quickly rekindle any iota of positive sentiment that may have existed before.[read more]

When Wal-Mart announced plans to use its retail locations to fulfill online orders last week, the media and business community broke into a collective game of word association. The word? Amazon. At the end of the day, Wal-Mart’s rise to online dominance really just revolves around turning an otherwise complicated shopping experience into one that feels quaint and easy.[read more]

Just because a company does not have a dedicated presence for customer service on social networks doesn’t mean that customers understand the difference. To everyday consumers, a Facebook page or a Twitter handle is the brand. Customers do not see silos, they see one company.[read more]

Patience is one of the hardest things to have when it comes to building online communities. Many business leaders want to believe it’s as easy as creating a Facebook page, combined with asking (or begging) for likes and within days they’ll have an instant community.The truth is that communities take time. Just like relationships are...[read more]

Followers of brands on social media expect a two-way and more from companies than ever before. Followers are not only looking for the newest coupon or information on the “Spring Line,” they want to be heard! When they are upset and shout it out to the social media world, they are also putting their relationship with the company on the line…”respond and respond well, or we are never ever getting back together.”[read more]

For all that social media is doing to change business for the better, it’s not yet enough. Interview any executive and ask them what their priority business goals are for 2013 and I’m sure you’ll see some element of customer-centricity on the list.[read more]

customer service

It’s easy to say, “No.” But that is not what amazing companies do. Amazing companies empower their employees to find solutions for their customers. They train, motivate, and praise their employees for coming up with “Yes” answers for their customers.[read more]

While certainly not a new concept, more and more brands are increasingly turning into media machines in today’s marketing landscape. While brands, media and audiences used to have distinct roles in the marketing relationship, in today’s world, these roles overlap, with brands and audiences becoming two of the major media makers. This creates new opportunities for brands to leverage the content they, and their audiences are creating.[read more]

Pharma is awakening to the "New Normal" in customer engagement. And that's good news for all you digital marketers. Last week I spoke to Craig Robertson, who is spearheading a new report from Accenture Life Sciences about the pharmaceutical industry’s accelerating adoption of digital and social marketing to reach patients and providers.[read more]

By acknowledging and openly discussing the concerns of disgruntled customers on social media, small and midsize businesses may actually boost their reputations –and their bottom lines.[read more]

digital engagement / Shutterstock

Whether a customer stands on the stage of awareness, consideration, purchase, or post purchase, touch points open and close. And it is in those moments that engagement, regardless of source or shape, affects the next steps and impressions of customers.[read more]

Do you remember “show and tell” from your elementary school days? This is the exact approach social media business users should be taking. Too often businesses merely tell followers why their product or service is worthy of a purchase. The best social media practitioners show and tell.[read more]

Too many business owners throw their hands up and give up on reviews. It’s personal and it’s painful to read how someone misinterpreted and mis-characterized your service, product, or business. But, the absolutely dead wrong response is to walk away.[read more]

consumer strategy

Recently I read a remarkable document from Netflix aimed at investors, titled “Netflix Long Term View.” (The fact that the phrase “long term” was in a document from a public company was only one remarkable piece of the story.) Netflix has a “North Star,” and it’s based on customer satisfaction.[read more]

Whilst it's undoubtedly great for engagement, the new Facebook Replies feature makes it hard for brands to find new content on their pages, to manage and moderate their communities effectively. It's coming to all pages by July 10, so here is a simple step-by-step guide to help.[read more]

When determining how to manage social media marketing efforts, many businesses – particularly smaller businesses – default to putting the intern in charge. And why not? They have time. They’re young and ‘into social media’. They have 1,000 Facebook friends, and 2,000 Twitter followers. They’re perfect, right? Well, not exactly. Putting an intern in charge of your business’ social media marketing is all but a guaranteed recipe for disappointment.[read more]

Social media software questions (Photo: Flickr's Diamond Farrah)

Choosing social media management software for your agency or company is a difficult task. Ask lots of questions, and don't feel bad about it. Here are nine things to think about before you get on the phone with salespeople and schedule demos.[read more]

customer service / shutterstock

How do you turn a good idea for a corporate culture into reality? By building an employee-centric workplace. An amazing customer service culture begins by first amazing the employees. Ace Hardware, the chain of retail stores known for their helpful service, is a perfect role model for this.[read more]

LinkedIn strategy / shutterstock

Running a B2B business can be challenging, especially when you are trying to contact the right person in a company regarding potential partnerships or a joint venture. LinkedIn is a great way to avoid having to ask to speak to the relevant person and being caught up by a gatekeeper.[read more]