More and more these days, there are reports on the internet of companies being harassed by disgruntled customers through social media. And why shouldn’t this be the case? These customers have always had these complaints; it’s only now with the advent of social media like Facebook, Twitter, and blogging especially, that customers now have a voice in the media. Social media has helped separate the good from the bad. Before when you wanted to know if a restaurant was good or if you were going to get food poisoning, you’d ask your friends, and if they didn’t know, you were out of luck. Now customers can Google the restaurant, look up reviews on Yelp, and more than likely find more reviews of the restaurant on Facebook and Twitter. The amount of information that social media provides is staggering. And it’s a good thing too, because that makes it a lot easier for businesses that offer quality service a new venue to stand out amidst their competitors.
Many businesses are making drastic changes in the way they are organized in order to better connect with social media to further advance company goals, as well as provide better customer service. Sometimes, the employees take measures into their own hands, even if these actions are not sanctioned by the organization. Based on a survey conducted by marketing research firm Forrester Research, about 27% of employees already working with technology regularly use sites like LinkedIn or Google Docs for work purposes, even though company policy prohibits such actions. Nearly 12% download their own computer applications for work, which are not provided by the company.
(Above) Best Buy’s Remix page featuring many of the applications available to customers
However, some companies embrace social media. Best Buy in particular is noted to be very adept in their social media usage. The Best Buy “Remix” project allows users to view the company’s website API so that people could modify it as they say fit, introducing apps to customize user experience and increase customer service. Customers can now use the wealth of information that Best Buy has on their products, pricing, and images to better find what they want. Businesses all over are discovering the usefulness of social media, and the impact that it can have on their company.
Written by Brennan Mack