Prompt's TechBlog
Bad customer service with Comcast? Go Tweet yourself
29 April 2008
Posted by James Gerber
They have recognized the fact that social media is, in large part, responsible for building brand image. The users are in control of the message and each and every customer service gaffe is potentially a threat to their image and business. The only reliable way right now to have Comcast hear your complaint and respond promptly is to blog or Tweet about it. It's a sad fact that Comcast isn't able to deal with the enormous volume of complaints that come in, but at least they can plug their fingers in the leaks of their sinking ship by monitoring and responding to social media.Below are some unsolicited suggestions for how Comcast should deal with this issue (we know you're reading this ;-) ). Speaking from my experience working for Prompt, a company that specializes in monitoring social media as it relates to people's opinions on companies, it is encouraging to see a company taking steps to monitor the blogosphere and here are several ways to take it a few steps further.
1. Be proactive, not reactive
Too often we see companies address social media only as a form of crisis management. The fact that it is getting noticed that Comcast is monitoring and responding to all of these blog postings is evidence in itself that Comcast is not as active in the blogosphere as it could be.By creating in engaging campaigns for influential bloggers and having constant positive posts written about the company, the negative ones are much less noticeable. Comcast, I'm sure, has a lot of good stories and satisfied customers that we don’t hear about.
2. Remember that anything can be blogged about
Comcast should train its employees to note that anything and everything can be blogged about. Gone are the days where the public only was able to receive opinions on companies from journalists and people close to them, because now a few bad experiences can completely damage a brand.
Imagine if employees all interacted with customers knowing that anything they say could be talked about by the customer and how that would make them much more motivated to provide better customer service. In a company the size of Comcast, and especially one that outsources call centers a lot, of course not all customer service problems would be solved this way, but surely it would at the very least make employees more aware of their actions.
3. Be a company of bloggers
This starts at the highest level of a company. Think Jonathan Schwartz at Sun. Think Marc Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks/HDNet. In the blogosphere, these two figureheads of their respective companies are very well regarded, and so are the companies' brands by bloggers.
Have you ever been away from home and met someone else from your home city or near to it? And how much more likely did that make you feel kinship for them? I'm sure a great deal more than someone who didn't share that same reference group with you. The more a company genuinely interacts with bloggers and becomes one itself, the greater the blogging community will feel a certain kinship with the company. A CEO blogger is a great way to do that, by having a figurehead that bloggers can relate to. Comcast's CEO Brian Roberts would do well to note this trend and create a blog on Comcast's front page. Many successful companies are doing this already, and for a company that is so concerned with what their customers think about it, it is only natural that is should start to genuinely engage with them and put a face to the corporation.
Comments:
Back in the day, Customer Relationship Management was the practice of leaving the house, stopping for a cup of coffee at the local diner on the way to work, taking a break to visit with your neighbors who happened to be long-time customers, and generally engaging others in conversations about anything and everything. And that, in webtime, is what it will take to divert this storm.
With the Comcastic Twitter initiative, I saw a variety of high and low-profile technology folks being helped, and even saw some Twittered follow up posts. Take a peek at how messages are passed on Twitter by @mjlambie, @chrisbrogan, @bloggersblog, and @jowyang. if you aren't familiar with this technology. You can see more at The Comcast Tweet Scan. Scott and Frank are doing so well in addressing the issues that they are getting referrals for both customer service and strategy!
Links to the above at http://carterfsmith.blogspot.com/2008/04/comcastic-forecast-chance-of-storms.html
What do you think?
Thanks for the great advice. We are currently evaluating all of these options. The outreach evolved from collecting feedback to assisting. The other recommendations are all being looked at. The key is doing it right. This is an exciting time for social media and we are thrilled to be involves to a small extent.
Thank you!
Frank Eliason
Comcast
@Frank
I'm genuinely impressed! After this post was published yesterday we jokingly asked if a Comcast rep would see it, thinking "yeah right, we're no TechCrunch".
It is great to see a large US company adapt into the new media world, as it is still new and can be seen as "too difficult" for the bigger players. As you have very well shown, it's not too difficult with the right resources and it is well worth the extra effort.
As social media has made word of mouth marketing incredibly easy, being aware of what's out there and appropriately reacting to it becomes paramount. It looks like Comcast is taking big steps in the right direction.
And as you are likely well-aware, word of mouth marketing through social media can also be beneficial. So to reward your involvement on this blog- I promise to tweet a few positive things about Comcast today.
Now if only there was a way to get a discount on HBO... kidding- you've done enough here.
Keep up the good work!
James!
Great stuff! Let me add my voice to Frank's.. This is very helpful to us as we continue think through how we improve our customer care.
One of the things I'm liking about Twitter is how everyone has to carefully craft their thought to get it expressed clearly in 140 characters or less.
I'm not a fan of the sound byte, but being succinct is definitely a virture.
Best regards,
Scott Westerman
Area Vice President
Comcast Southwest
@wscottw3 on Twitter
Thanks for stopping by our blog. We're honored that you would take the time.
@Carter, I agree that great CRM starts with engaging with customers in plain, friendly dialog. In a way, Twitter does make the web feel more local. Although, the question that people are trying to figure out right now is: just how far can you take it with Twitter? Is it a breach of good etiquette to follow customers feeds? Is it encroaching too far into people's personal space to respond to them (i.e. people don't want to feel like they are being monitored all the time by corporations)? The answers to these questions are likely to be how companies conduct the most effective PR campaigns in the near future, as we are starting to see now.
@Frank and Scott
It is truly astonishing just how good your team is at responding to social media posts in a timely way.
I hope that your team can push the rest of Comcast to be even more aware and friendly to social media.
How would you respond to the questions I posed above? I'm sure you would have a good perspective on this. Have you personally seen negative reactions to your responses on blogs/Twitter and how do they compare in number to the positive responses to your approach? I'd be very curious to know.
Warm regards,
James
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