There are plenty of brands in Australia that are creating a presence in social media on networks like Facebook and Twitter only to then leave them dormant. So it was nice to see Telstra’s social media team fearlessly engaging in the “I hate Telstra” Facebook group with really helpful comments and advice.

What’s interesting is the way they respond.  They don’t try to resolve everything or make promises they can’t keep. They use real names and even show people what they look like.   They are just really responsive and eager for  conversation no matter how confronting.  And it looks like the community is starting to appreciate the contact and transparency, even if they are really angry.

Some sample responses from Telstra:





Sample Twitter Posts


One important point for Telstra to consider though is whatever tool you use for customer service, there has to be resolution at the end of the day otherwise you may get responses like this:

    Wesley Chan says: "Mate, I don’t care about how fast you guys tweet… Your response quality is terrible and has helped me very little for the past 6 months. In fact the issue keeps recurring, I have told your team this and you say the same thing, just go ring tech support and surprise surprise they don’t help…Might have to take this one to the TIO."

Telstra uses multiple channels to monitor and respond to customer enquiries and help resolve complaints. The company answers an average 10 enquiries/complaints per day. See http://exchange.telstra.com.au/about/telstra-social-media-channels/ for all the channels Telstra uses.

Other best practice examples of using social media for customer service

Billabong uses its blog to communicate with stakeholders on a range of topics, notably surf, ski and skate events, competitions and teams. The company proactively encourages user participation on the channel. It also uses Twitter primarily to strengthen relationships. New product ranges and offers are also subtly promoted.  See @billabong1973

Harvey Norman uses Twitter to communicate latest deals, discounts and offers. It also uses the channel to answer customer enquiries and to list employment opportunities See @harveynormanau

Woolworths is also asking its customers to share and rank ideas on how to improve products and services and uses a blog to communicate and engage members and facilitate feedback.

There are huge opportunities for brands to engage with their customers in social media to offer better customer service and the research is starting to suggest that an integrated multi-channel approach should be the next step for many brands. Is it time to move out of the experimentation phase and give this a good go? I think so.