Online help two.zero

As a consumer I have any number of ways I can complain/feedback about the experience I have had with a company’s product(s) or service(s) including:

1. Email
2. Phone call
3. To my friends, family, acquaintances
4. On my blog
5. Via twitter
6. Third party sites such as Plebble, ComplaintCommunity, GetSatisfaction, Qype, Yelp…

The big difference between the first three and the last three are that the first three essentially take place within a private space, between me and the company or those who I choose to tell. While the last three take place within potentially a very public medium.

What is the impact of this on a company?

Not only does a company have to contend with the fact that someone can complain very publicly, they now also have to contend with the fact that someone can complain almost anywhere they want. In a sense, a company now has to proactively seek out complaints, as well as be reminded of the fact via Twitter alerts that someone has just complained about them or that they have yet to deal with that complain.

Some random ‘uncut’ thoughts on Twitter.

Fad? Get over it. You’ll only know if it’s a fad when it’s not here anymore. Is a fad linked to time? Could be a long wait.

Story? Many people talk about the need for having a story to tell. I’m not sure what that means or on what level a story takes place? For me, my story is that I help people (@guyatcarphone). It’s as simple as that. If you’ve got a problem I listen and try to find the answer. Does that make for a good or interesting story? I don’t know. But what I do know is that it’s the people I help who judge whether I’ve got a story to tell or not, and at the end of the day are the people I help really bothered whether I’ve got a story to tell? What I do know, is that if I don’t help them, they’ve certainly got a story about me to tell.

Be interesting? What does this mean? I find it difficult being interesting out of work, what hope does that give me when I am in work? Interesting to who?

Listen? Listen to what? How do I know if I am listening to the right thing?

Be relevant? What does this mean? Relevant to who? About what? How do I know when I am being relevant? What does it look like?

ROI? All I know is that every customer I help or even turn into a fan, is a customer who might be a bit more likely to come back and buy from us again. What’s the ROI on that? Is it a social media ROI? Marketing ROI? Sales ROI? Brand ROI? Customer service ROI? Twitter ROI?

People seem to be more concerned with being interesting, being relevant, creating a story than actually simply writing their first tweet. My advice for taking your first step: get on Tweetdeck or Hootsuite type in the search field the name of your company or the product or service you provide and respond empathetically to what people, some of who may be your customers, some of whom may be your detractors are saying. Imagine you are them, how would you want to be responded to? Your story and relevance will follow. If you create a story first, just remember it may not be the one your customers want to hear.

This post is a first, actually it’s a second, but I put that down to the perils of a beginner. I somehow deleted my first attempt at a blog on the move.

I have been using an iPhone for about two weeks now and it has without doubt opened up for me a whole new world of possibilities within online help and customer service.

Geography and time difference are no longer the barriers they once were. I can literally help or provide customer service at anytime and from anywhere.

I was on the train home, a journey of about 50 minutes, time enough in theory to provide help and support to whoever might need it via Twitter or some other platform.

Imagine though if a company could harness the collective knowledge of its customers who are willing to share their knowledge as and when they feel like it. Or a Google or Microsoft creating a global help and support platform drawing on the collective knowledge and experiences of us all; people helping people on their way home on the train or on the bus or wherever they might be…nothing stopping us except an empty battery!