By now you may have heard rave reviews of the increase of customer satisfaction on Twitter. Businesses all over the world are using Twitter as another outlet for customer service. Twitter provides a quick and convenient platform for addressing customer concerns. Twitter comes with a relatively lower price tag than traditional customer service tools like the telephone.  Here are Twitter customer service rules of thumb for following up on tweeted problems, having multiple employees managed your account, and some pretty awesome outcomes for following up.

Addressing Customers on Twitter

Addressing customer concerns on Twitter is a great way to retain customer loyalty and improve your brand image. Ignoring customers and reacting rudely to customer concerns can have a devastating public impact on your brand image and customer loyalty. Three tips to prevent this from happening to your business are:

1. Politely acknowledge all customer questions and concerns from your Twitter account.
   Whether you can get to them now or later is not the question. Just get to them or direct customers to the appropriate channel for addressing their problems.
2. Assist conversations between customers.
   Sometimes on Twitter someone within a person’s Twitter network may know the answer to the question. That doesn’t mean you should stay silent. Thank them both for their time and provide additional resources if necessary.
3. Say “Thank you”.
   Whether it’s a complaint or suggestions, thank your Twitter customers for reaching out and allowing you to help them resolve their concerns as quickly as possible. This can go a long way in the world of Twitter customers who appreciate acknowledgements and follow-up replies.

Multiple Employees Under One Twitter Login

Addressing your customers on Twitter can prove difficult when multiple people are managing your company’s Twitter account. This is where Twitter clients come in handy. CoTweet is an amazing web Twitter client for assigning people to address specific customer tweets. In doing so, you minimize the risk of having several employees answer one question multiple times.

You can also use CoTweet or Hootsuite to assign specific tweets to the proper employees or department heads managing the company Twitter account.  Doing so can ensure that customers are interacting directly with those with company expertise about their question.

Listen and Learn: Following Up On Twitter

In the end there are many desired outcomes that can results from your customer service efforts on Twitter. The most obvious benefit is customer loyalty. Instead of requesting alternatives to your business or product, Twitter users are more inclined to reach out to you via Twitter to resolve simple matters.  Zappos is a popular example of a company using Twitter to retain repeat customers with great customer service strategies. Coincidentally, Zappos great customer service on Twitter led to a purchase by Amazon for nearly $1 billion.

A future sale could also ensue. Avaya, a global leader in business communications, made a sale of $250k on Twitter just 13 days after following up with a tweet mentioning their business and a competitor.  By tracking your customer’s conversations on Twitter and following up, your business has the opportunity to address rumors and concerns about your brand directly from the source. No middle man, TV anchors or reporters to misconstrue your words. Imagine the PR nightmare you can save yourself with these techniques!

Recommended Reads

• How-To Use Twitter for Customer Service – Mashable
• 6 Impressive Twitter Customer Service & Brand Management Cases – Chromatic
• Using Twitter and Facebook to Submit Consumer Complaints – Chicago Tribune