A major concern with social media, for large companies is that they can’t control the conversation any longer. In the past, individuals couldn’t afford to blanket the airwaves with a commercial about their problem. Companies could and they grew very large. There was no balance of power between customer and large business. Companies have taken advantage of that intentionally and unintentionally. Social media (twitter, blogs, Facebook, etc.) give consumers a voice and it’s slowly restoring the balance of power. Now it’s up to the companies to address this change.

My question is this: If Comcast can provide 3 hour response to a Twitter complaint, why can’t they do that for complaints that originate from a phone call? Either they can and haven’t been because there wasn’t an incentive or they can’t and the more popular twitter becomes, the worse twitter customer service will get.

I like to think social media is a reconning for companies that haven’t been giving customers the attention they deserve. Power is balancing out and companies are going to have to do more than open a Twitter account to survive. They’re going to have to address people’s problems and their own service.

Let me hear your comments and please take the polls:

What was your twitter customer service experience?

How does twitter impact customer service?

Take me in relation to eLocomotive. I could tell you that I was a Honda certified mechanic before I went to college, that I love hiking, or that I have an extremely athletic mutt that still acts like a puppy at 8 years old. None of this seems relevant in the context of eLocomotive.

I do tell people things like:

• I’m an entrepreneur at heart and that spirit makes increases my understanding and interest in your business. Three of my mother’s siblings ran separate, successful businesses. So did my grandfather. When my wife’s parents were telling her to do well in school so she could get a good job and work there to retirement, my mother was telling me I’d never be happy or secure if I didn’t run my own business. I work with a lot of start ups and single owner businesses and this speaks to them.. They know I mean it when I say I love business and that I’m interested in theirs.
• A thirst for innovation drives me. My grandfather taught me a valuable lesson that’s always stuck with me. He told me that he was never the strongest or the fastest but he was always able to devise tools that made his jobs easier. That put him ahead of others on the job site and made him successful. That’s what technology is to me. I love building tools that make it easier to run your business.

It may not be relevant that I’ve played soccer since I was 4. It probably is relevant that when I was young my father’s company installed AS400s and I started working on computers when I was 8.

Telling a story in your website is much more compelling than stopping at buzzwords. If all you say is the facts of what you do you risk becoming a commodity among your customer’s websites. Find a way to bring the relevant personality to your marketing and your website.