How is twitter changing customer service

But now that customers can have full fledged conversations with organizations over DM, will customers see the need to take their conversation with an organization to another channel? Or, will they insist organizations provide them complete support through their channel of choice, Twitter? This presents an interesting challenge for organizations who rely on the transition of customers off social media and on to traditional channels for keeping a consolidated customer record.

Will social customer service agents handle DMs, or will they be passed off to customer service agents who are experienced using email?

Or will this drive the change toward blended customer service agents who manage social and traditional channels? New features at both Twitter and Facebook are quietly nudging customer service back behind closed doors. But while companies may be breathing a sigh of relief, the changes pose a new set of challenges all their own. An estimated 67 percent of consumers now tap networks like Twitter and Facebook for customer service.

For the socially savvy, the appeal is obvious: Rather than suffering through interminable help lines or waiting patiently for a response via email, users can Tweet instead, in some cases getting instant, personalized attention. Unless users have large social followings, or their messages manage to go viral, their complaints may not see prompt redress.

Meanwhile, too much public griping can easily backfire on users. When the Black Eyed Peas frontman Will. At the same time, not every customer complaint or issue lends itself to being resolved out in the open. Both parties, say an unhappy customer and a company, have needed to mutually follow one another before taking the conversation private.

This awkward extra step has meant most customer service has been conducted out in the open. Earlier this spring, however, Twitter quietly announced a shakeup. But the researchers say an event that is perceived as negative by the customer, such as a price hike, would increase customers' expectations of care quality. One way around negative events is tailoring response efforts in anticipation of potentially influential events, such as marketing campaigns, a new product release or even a data security breach.

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