This past week BusinessWeek.com posted a story called Comcast’s Twitter Man.  Of course I am one of a number of people on Twitter from Comcast.  These positive stories have come about because of the great team I have and their efforts to improve the Customer experience.  I am still shocked by it all.  Whenever a story comes out like this it always brings about questions:  usually scalability and existing Customer experience through other channels such as phone and chat.  This post will answer the question on scalability.  I am saving the discussion on improving the experience through all channels for the future Comcast corporate blog.  That is a topic that is more relevant for that space instead of this one.  But since I am a believer that social media engagement will be important in the coming years, I thought scalability is a great discussion for here.

Jeremiah Owyang is an analyst for Forrester Research.  He likes to ask the difficult questions, and I appreciate that about him.  I look forward to more questions in the future.  Follow this link to see an interview Jeremiah did with me during the Forrester conference in Dallas.  After the BusinessWeek.com story he tweeted the following:

To begin to answer this question I should point out that I personally believe that social media is another form of communication, similar to phone or email.  To me there is no difference.  People post in social media to be heard.  It is really just a question as to who is listening.  I believe in the coming years, as companies begin to understand social media you will see more of it.  If someone has this belief, then they  also must believe that it is scalable.

There are multiple answers in the way in which social media outreach is scalable.  The first and most obvious is as social media continues to expand more and more employees will be participating in these spaces.  If the employees are passionate they will assist.  There are 2 keys in making this successful.  The first is company policies must permit them to do so.  Many companies have been scared of this, but who is a better advocate for the company then the employee.  If they are not then the company needs to review their own hiring practices and the manner in which they treat their employees.  By the way, no matter what the company policy is, employee will still be participating in social media anyway, so it is best to embrace it.  Second is companies should teach their employees how to participate in social media spaces.  @Zappos and other companies do a great job with this.

The other model for scalability (BTW it works with the one above very well) is engagement by a team of individuals.  This too is very scalable, but it requires the right tools.  Many companies over the years have built listening tools or have a listening service.  I personally like our friends at Nielsen Online.  They have great ways to “hear” what is being discussed regarding your brand and strong analysis.   If a company is not listening, they should be.

There are also tools that are used for engagement in social media spaces like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogs, forums or many other websites where conversations are happening.   These tools are still being developed by many companies and I believe they will continue to get better.  We have been reviewing a few of them.  One such tool is Radian 6.  This tool not only pulls these conversations into one single place, but you can also assign it to someone to review and reach out to assist.  The tool also gathers the data so you can reference again in the future if necessary.  You can also track how the conversation changes.  With this tool in theory you can have many people assisting Customers in social media.  Here is a screen shot of Radian 6.

Now tools like this will continue to improve in the coming years.  I think the keys to the tools would be speed, yet provide the ability to keep it personal.  I find social media to be about relationships, so it is also key that the tool can make sure the same person is able to assist if someone comes back for help.  I would also love to see it integrated with email communication.  This will further the analysis tools but also a great way to fully understand a Customer story.  At the same time it definitely makes engagement scalable.  There is an ability to have 5 users or 10000.

Beyond the tools, companies have to continue to grow comfortable with allowing the relationships to develop.  It is imperative for anyone working in these spaces to “be themselves.”  Companies must be comfortable that every word said will not be reviewed by many different people.

So to recap here are the keys to scalability:

• Company support
• Speed of response
• Assignability
• The ability to keep it personal

There is no need to go out and purchase these tools yet, although they help.  For now, until you understand the space and how you will use it, tools like Twitter Search or Google Blogsearch will work well.

The tools will continue to evolve as social media will, but it is really making the world much smaller for individuals and companies.  How do you see this evolving?

The other day a Customer posted a comment to my blog about his Comcast experience. He did not realize that there were better ways to contact me or that it was not a place for discussing Comcast (for the record I prefer Customers email We_Can_Help@cable.comcast.com). I helped him out and we had a nice conversation on my ride home from work. I told him at the time that he inspired a post. He was not a blogger he just wanted help, and as always I am happy to assist. Based on the great work of my team I have been very much linked to Comcast. I realized this when I went to Blog World. The first night I was in Vegas I was invited to the TechSet party at Mirage’s Bare Club. I was really looking forward to have a good time with a few drinks. I walked in and the first person I met was one of the hosts Stephanie Agresta. I introduced myself and she immediately announced to the crowd around her how ComcastCares was in the house. This is when I realized I represent Comcast to many people.  I am not Frank but I am ComcastCares.

I still had fun that night talking with Brian Solis, Gary Vandurchuk, Tony Hsieh and many others.  At the same time I only had 2 drinks the entire night.  Not that I am the type that would have been running into the pool or doing anything crazy, but it is a weird feeling the moment you realize that everything you do not only represents yourself, but also the company that you work for, no matter the time of day.  I also tend to be working all the time because twitter makes it so easy to talk with great people about topics of interest, including the work that I do.   

The day that the comment was made on the blog, I already was thinking a lot about how blurry the lines are in social media spaces.  On my ride in to work I heard a news report regarding an appeals case involving Hermitage School District and a student who created a fake myspace profile for the school principal.  On the page he referred to the principal as a “steroid freak,” a “whore” and a marijuana user.  According to Philadelphia CBS 3, the student was suspended, put into an alternative education program and restricted from extracurricular activities for his actions.  This punishment is what caused the lawsuit.  The initial court ruled that since the activity was outside of school, the district did not have the right to offer the punishment.  What is really interesting is another case with the exact opposite outcome also in the appeals system.  It is another Pennsylvania case involving an 8th Grader who created a myspace profile of the principal.  The profile did not mention the last name, but it did have the picture of the actual principal and listed his job as principal.  I will not repeat all of the specifics, but he was described as having sexual activity in his office and hitting on students and parents.  The student was suspended and the court upheld the decision.  It is now being appealed with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union and a pro bono team from Drinker, Biddle & Reath.  They are claiming first amendment rights.

I find it interesting that 2 very similar cases with 2 different answers.  I am curious how the appeals court views both cases.  But this just shows more of the blurring that is happening.  In these cases it is home, school and social media.  I have to be honest, I am not sure how I feel about these cases.  The activity was outside of school, so it is something that the parent should discipline.  At the same time there does need to be a certain amount of respect for the principal and I am sure both caused some disruption at school.  Are these cases defamation of character or a joke protected by the first amendment?  Should the schools discipline for this or should the individuals being defamed sue the family?  Maybe nothing should be done.  To me it is a blurry aspect of social media.  If this was the press, the principals would sue.  Is social media any different?

http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2008/12/free-speech-on.html

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202426654073&pos=ataglance

http://cbs3.com/topstories/MySpace.Freedom.Of.2.884534.html

Engaging in Social Media is not redefining Customer Service, but rather what people think of Customer Service. To start lets look at what Customer Service really is. In an effort to do this I started by Googling the term “Customer Service Definitions.” Many of the definitions I found made me laugh. I am starting to see why Customer Service is lacking throughout the country. It is interesting that many of them were missing key components or focusing on sales, the company or other ancillary business aspect. To me it is simple. It is the manner that you build long term relationships with your Customers. This is done through every interaction a Customer has with your company, including use of the products, interactions with your systems (such as your website), reviewing marketing material or talking to anyone representing your company in any forum (phone, in person (even at a party), email, chat, etc). Even when the Customer is writing the check or using their banks online bill pay service, this is Customer Service.

What I found most interesting is many of the definitions seem to focus on complaints, people interactions or sales. This is missing the boat. If you purchase from Amazon, one of the main Customer Service points is when the shipment arrives at your door. If it is damaged or late, you will consider it to be a poor service experience. But if it the shipping time exceeds your expectations you will be wowed.

This is why I am a firm believer that everyone in any organization is part of the Customer Service function. Do you feel that you are part of Customer Service? Or do you look down on people that work in this function? If you do it is time for you to adjust that attitude.

Now this brings me to the topic of the post. I have seen a lot of press and blog posts about the efforts of my team on the web. I have always been surprised by this because I do not see what I am doing as that special. If you review how I defined Customer Service, you will notice that I believe it is everyone’s responsibility to talk with Customers. I also believe that it is important to be where they are when possible. The internet provides that ability.

To me if I hear someone talking about the company I work for I always offer to help. I have done this at parties, on the street, and one time in a Verizon Wireless store. I never have done it in a negative way. I would just say let me assist, here is my business card. My business card has my email, office phone and my cell phone clearly listed on it. It is very simple. “Let me know if I can help.”

So now we look at engagement in social media spaces. In many cases I write simple messages, “Can I help” or “Thank you.” I do not use the time to sell which many marketers have tried to do. Yet these simple acknowledgements have led to many sales. The key is to be genuine and willing to sincerely listen and help. I never press, I simply provide the opportunity for someone to obtain assistance. For me if I saw someone who wanted or needed help anywhere, I would be happy to assist. As many of you know I have been known to do this many hours of the day, but that is because if I see someone that needs help, and if I can, I will.

So our online activity has caused a little buzz at times, but it is never redefined my definition of Customer Service. What occurred is some people never thought of social media and Customer Service so it appeared new to them. It redefined their thought on Customer Service. That to me is exciting and it is part of the overall shift I think we are seeing in the way people and companies view Customers Service. The definition is becoming more clear. What do you think?

This morning I was having a conversation on Twitter about avatars and being personal.  I am now a big believer in the need to be personal, and when possible using a photo instead of symbol.  I changed mine a while back to a picture based on feedback.  But this caused me to think a little bit more about the personal side of social media.  Very specifically the number of comments on the internet that are made by individuals not based on their experiences or to because they want to attack an individual or corporation.  This is what I see as the potential downfall for social media. 

It is expected, and I think very necessary that companies follow certain ethical guideline:

1. Be Respectful of individuals and the space you are interacting
2. Be Open and Honest with who you are and the company you represent
3. Protect privacy of Customers
4. Allow others to express opinion even if differing from your own

1. Attempt to respond with kindness and offers of assistance
2. Do not take the attacks personally and remember that your kindness will show
3. You will not be able to help in every circumstance, but if you have a good track record people will see it.  It is okay to leave a final word ending a conversation that leaves the door open for them to contact you.  I have done this with leaving my email. 

I think this has been a barrier to entry for many companies because they say why should I bother, I can not identify the person saying these things, so I can not change their mind.  I obviously disagree with that perspective and I think you have to concentrate on what you do well and helping when possible.  Similar to interactions in person or phone it is best to kill them with kindness.

Should there be ethical guidelines for internet users?  How would you handle these type of interactions?  Do you see this as a potential problem?

I have discussed a few aspects of the work of my team and the importance of companies to listen to their Customers through any communication channel.  Those that heard me speak know that I like social media because it is unaltered, not interpreted story of the Customer.  Through all my years in Customer Service, I have always been a proponent of change.  I believe change is important for individuals and companies.  The trouble is I have found companies do not always change based on numbers.  Yes if they lose a lot of Customer or income, maybe but that does not always address Customer pinch points that exist.  What I have always found is companies have the most change when they can relate to what a Customer is going through.  A great place to find this is in social media.  This is in blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and numerous other places.  It is really wherever your Customers are.

Many companies do not know how to listen.  Listening is not hiring a firm to provide all kinds of numbers based on finding in the blogosphere.  I have also heard people say if companies want to know what Customers think to search google for the company name and “sucks.”  Sorry they are both wrong answers.  I applaud companies that understand the important aspects of social media that they are collecting both of these data points.  But these are really just data or numbers.  The better option is to actually read stories or posts.  It is also just as important to review the comments that go with those posts.  I am not recommending companies spend thousands of dollars on fancy gadgets.  What I recommend is so easy, anyone can do it.  Here are just a few ideas:

1. Google Blog Search – Simply follow the link, search your brand, then click on posts for the last day, or last week (this is an option on the left hand side).  This will provide some recent stories of how people use your products, good experiences they have had and some opportunity areas.
2. Twitter Search – This usually provides much more immediate information before blogs.  But again just as simple, type in your brand name and see what people are saying.  If you find an interesting tweet, click on the name to see other tweets from that person.  An even better idea is to open Twitter search in a new tab or window and just search the Twitter name.  This will allow you to view more of the 2 way conversation.  Imagine if you had the ability to review conversations about your product or company?  Well with Twitter you can (at least portions of it – some posts may not be in search because they are from someone keeping information private.
3. Forums – We all know forums that are dedicated to the business we are in.  Drift in and read through some of the posts.

These are great tools that make it really easy.  But after that is where is becomes key.  You can share some of the data that you find, but did you find an interesting story?  If you want to prove my point about stories, than over a few day period share some numbers.  After a week or so, add in a story that you find and watch what happens.  People will ask more questions and they will be more passionate about what you are finding.  The same reaction will happen when sharing data from other sources.  I have worked in Customer Service centers.  Most of the time I shared numbers.  Once in a while I would add Customer stories to the numbers.  This always brought reaction.  You do not even have to share negative stories, because the same happens with positive stories.

When is the last time you shared a story at work?  Did you receive a different reaction compared to data?

Many marketers want to know the best ways to sell in social media spaces.  I have seen these sell attempts made on posts made on blogs, forums or twitter.  As with anyone I applaud them for recognizing the social media spaces as being important to their business.  I agree it is probably going to be one of the most important areas for companies in the future.

I may be a simple service person and not a marketer by trade, but I do think I know a little bit about this space.  To me social media is the same as talking to a Customer during a phone conversation or in person.  It never works when you throw something out there for the Customer to buy.  When I spent more time managing people I always taught them to earn the right to sell.  You do this by providing the best service and resolving any concerns.  Once you do this, it is simple to review and offer something that is appropriate for the Customer.  If nothing is appropriate, then nothing should be offered.  It is letting the Customer guide the approach.

In social media the same is true.  The first step would be to build relationships and earn the respect in the space.  The way you build relationships is first listening.  Doing so, you will understand the audience and the way interactions occur.  It also allows you to learn about your brand and how companies use your products.  The next step would be to engage with your Customers in the space.  This is probably the most rewarding of the steps for company (at least in my personal opinion).  There is nothing more fun than the opportunity to chat with your Customers.  Once you do all this, then, and only then, can you consider selling.  At the same time, just like in a phone call, it is only good to sell what it is appropriate for the needs of the Customer, or in the case of social media, the Customers involved.  The other key (now this goes back to listening) is that it must be relevant.  It must be a solution or fulfill a need.

This may be against the grain of many regarding selling, but I think in this space where the Customer has a high degree of control, it is necessary.  Otherwise people will shut you out and not listen, which is also easy to do in this space.  What are your thoughts?

How effective is your company listening to social media?  Do you have the ability to respond quickly and effectively within the space.  Everyone knows my story on Twitter, so I will not go into that here.  But one thing I have always said is the true ROI for being involved in social media is the cost for not being involved.  Over the past few days a story began to unfold regarding a brand many of us have used (although based on what I have seen, many will not use going forward).  The brand is Motrin.  Lets watch a little of this headache unfold:

It all started with this ad campaign (you can provide your own adjectives). I think Peggy Olson (Mad Men) would have told Donald Draper no on this one! 

That was the beginning of the headache for the maker of Motrin, McNeil Consumer Healthcare (A division of Johnson and Johnson).  As I have stated before, one of the reasons Twitter is a good place for business is news starts in places like that or online forums.  From there it usually spreads to other sources such as blogs, or in this case You Tube.  Eventually the information finds its way to traditional media.  Well this is just one of those stories.  So after the ad campaign began, let the tweets and the headache begin.  Here is an image of the website:

Moms began to tweet about the offensive nature of the ad.  These mom’s made it clear that it is not a pain to hold their child close to them and they love to do it.  So this ad was truly backfiring on them and they did not know it, at least until someone decided to build the video.  Instead of rebuilding all the tweets, check out the You Tube video created:

This started numerous blog posts on the topic.  Check out Google Blogsearch, Twitter Search, or a search of You Tube.  This caused a large hit to the brand that will show in search results for a long time to come.  Now at this time the company has posted an apology on the Motrin website:

There are a number of lessons for brands.

1. Common Sense Marketing – First and foremost use common sense in advertising.  I am not a marketing person, but I could see this one coming the moment I saw the ad.
2. Listening in Social Media – Listen to spaces such as Twitter because it will give you a heads up very early and hopefully respond before there is a video and numerous blog entries such as this one.
3. Engagement – If you had individuals already in spaces like Twitter, reaching out at the time of the initial tweets may have prevented this (although no guarantee).  It at least would have made it so some of the individuals would have known the brand was listening.  I will write a post soon on engagement by companies! 
4. Rapid Response Culture – Create a rapid response culture that would allow this to be escalated to the right people and decisions made immediately.

I would like to thank the Moms on Twitter for sharing the story – I have become friends with many of you and I appreciate all the hard work you do.  I also found the blog posts from David Armano and Pete Blackshaw very helpful (as always)

I am a firm believer that Customer Service and public discussions on the web will be an alternate channel similar to phone, email, or chat.  At the same time I was not surprised to learn that the Consumerist on Friday announced that their parent company, Gawker Media, was putting the web property up for sale.  Recently Get Satisfaction started a pay program to provide more control to companies.  Will websites such as these ever be a profitable place?  Are they even needed with all the blogs and other website out there?

Well let me start of by saying I regularly view the Consumerist, and I have for a long time.  I think Ben and Meg are great and they really are trying to get companies to think about their Customer differently.  The trouble to the model is the website is ad supported, although the ads are minimal.  It looks like most of them are google ads that pay on a per click basis.  I am sure more money would be available if the ads were sold directly, but what company would buy ads in that space?  It would have to be an against the grain company.  Would there be a perceived bias towards those that purchase ads.  I know that it would not impact Meg or Ben, but if a company was blasted for something, would that mean that they would pull the ad?  Would a subscriber model work better?

Get Satisfaction recently started an effort to make money by offering an advanced moderation services to companies paying a fee of $49 per month or a better package at $120 per month and a pro service at $349 per month.  I applaud their effort to make sure the business model is profitable and long lasting.  It is important for any company to try to be successful.  The team at Get Satisfaction built great tools and have the ability to really expand on that.  The trouble is in this economic environment I am not sure I can justify the expense to my employer.  Especially since complaints and compliments are not limited to one website, but rather throughout the internet.  I will continue to watch the website and consider it as the tools advance.  At the same time I am not sure enough companies will pay that much to make the company sustainable.   This is especially true in the current economic environment where everybody is cutting back on expenses.  I wish them well in this effort!

Another website, and one of the original for providing feedback, is one I have used called Planet Feedback.  The way this website works is you fill out a letter to the company.  You also answer a number of questions, like would your recommend, would you like to share the letter publicly, mood, propensity to tell others, etc.  This is a fun way to tell a company what you think and I will say from personal experience it works.  This website was originally founded by Pete Blackshaw, and went through a few other owners, with Pete’s continued involvement.  Again the website is back in Pete’s hands.  The question is how can a website like this be financially feasible?  The concept is great, but many people have access to email company leaders by doing a simple google search.

I think these are different models for consumer activism that are present today, and truthfully I hope for a long time to come.  The trouble is they are not necessarily going to have the best way to make money.  I think a website like the Consumerist would do better using a subscription based model, but would their readers pay that?  I know I would, but not sure if it would make enough money.  Get Satisfaction and Planet Feedback are interesting websites with some strong data available for companies.  Get Satisfaction would do best by building analytics centered around all web 2.0 spaces talking about a company.  They already involve Twitter.  That would be something worth paying for and creating the ability to centralize it.   Planet feedback could consider developing a method for companies to collect and analyze feedback from other sources.  They could also consider creating a program for companies to manage letters and emails.  The trouble for these websites is they are competing with personal blogs, forums discussing companies, twitter and many other websites where the Customer may already be.

What is the best way for these websites to continue to exist?  Should they consider being part of a non-profit dedicated to Customer Satisfaction?  Would you pay to subscribe?  If you were a company would you pay to use the service?

So Wednesday morning I am exchanging private tweets with Pete Blackshaw from Nielsen Online (BuzzMetrics) and author of Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customer Tell 3000.  The next thing I know I am off to the WOMMA Summit in Las Vegas.  WOMMA is the Word of Mouth Marketing Association.  Pete was doing a presentation about his book and my work is a good case study.  As I was flying out to Vegas I sat and reflected on the past year, the changes that have happened at work, all my new friends, and changes within my life.  This has been one eventful year.  The next few days were also very eventful!

So I flew out late on Wednesday so I could see the presentation by Tony Hsieh of Zappos.  I walked in to say hi to Tony but he had to rush off to go into the wienermobile.  I looked to my left and sure enough there was the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile.  I knew this would be an interesting few days!

Tony took the time to discuss the Zappos culture and how the passion of the team leads to above and beyond service.  This in turn leads to repeat business and word of mouth for his company.  I will not talk all about it because I think the topic could be a blog post by itself.  I have had the opportunity to tour Zappos and meet many of the great people there.  I will write a post soon that discusses some of that.  Even though I have heard the story before I always enjoy the opportunity to hear it again.

As the day progressed, I was asked to join another panel with @davidalston, @boughb and @akeats.  We were discussing employees as Word of Mouth Ambassadors for your company.  It was fun to talk on this topic with a great group of people.  I have always felt that employees are always the best ambassadors for a company.  The conversation typically drifted to online, but I find the same to be true offline.  It is so important for employees to want to be ambassadors for the company they work for.  If they are not, they may want to consider where they are working!

So after the great day we went to a meet and greet at a bowling alley at the Rio.  There I had some great conversations with many of the participants.  After the cocktails, many of us went separate way to meet for dinner.  They did something very interesting, they had everyone sign up for dinner in smaller groups.  Pete signed us up for dinner at the Tau.  Tau is located in the Venetian so I did enjoy seeing the look of the building.  I have been to Venice twice, so it was interesting to see the Vegas version.

So we had a lovely dinner at Tau.  The ambiance there was very interesting.  In fact I think it led me to believe the food would be better than it really was.  At the same time it was an interesting conversation with Pete and John Bell, Managing Director and Executive Creative Director for Ogilvy PR.  We were discussing social media and its influences in different parts of the world.

So after dinner Pete decides he is interested in checking out the club located within the restaurant (I think it was his mixture of drinks – Red Bull and Espresso).  We went walking up to the third floor only to be stopped by a bouncer telling us we need to have our hand stamped and to see our waiter.  So we go to our waiter to get our hand stamped.  Of course this now requires 3 different people to eventually get done.  We make our way back up to the 3rd floor only to be told the stamp just helps us move to the front of the line.  Since we did not intend to spend much time, it was not worth the cover charge, so we decided to leave.  We walked around the Venetian working our way across the street.  At this time we decide to go to check out the water show at the Bellagio.  Not seeing it before, I was interested.  The next thing I know Pete asks what time is it.  It was 10:56.  He turns to me and says we can make.  He starts running.  Of course I have to follow.  It seemed really close, it is just on the other side of Caesars Palace.  So we are running for what seems like forever.  Through the whole run, people were just staring at us like we were crazy.  That is a strange feeling when you are in Vegas.  Anyway we did make it for the 11:00 show.  It was really neat to see.  Here is a version I found on You Tube: 

Once it was finally over, an announcement came on to say that the next showing would be in 15 minutes.  I ran all that way to save those few minutes?  Thanks Pete!

After it was over Pete and I walked back to the Rio talking about some of the contemplation I did on the way to Vegas.  He was encouraging me, and advising me how to write a book.  He thought it would be a compelling story.  From our original use of our website to share updates regarding Gia to the past year, that can only be described as wild.  I enjoyed Pete’s insights.

The next day Pete and I did the keynote for the WOMMA conference.  It went very well and the reaction from everyone seemed to be very positive.

For anyone that has been to Vegas, you know there are many strange things to see.  Have you ever seen anything more odd than Pete and I running through the streets?  I am not sure I have!