Comcast is using a variety of tools to create a smooth process to do Social Customer Relationship Management. They listen with brand monitoring software, connect it to their existing customer records, and sometimes handle the customer issue right on Twitter or move off channel. They are seen as a leading example of a company doing it right.
Here’s an interesting interview of Comcast Social Media Manager Head.
1) How are you able to manage the millions of customers with a small
team? What types of technologies or processes do you have in place to
make your team efficient? How does it tie back to customer records?The amount of interactions are not too much, the bulk of the work
handled by my team is through an email address we post on the internet
We_Can_H…@cable.comcast.com. The email address receives over 7000
emails a month, within blogs there are 6000-10000 blogs a day that
mention Comcast but the vast majority are because the blogger posts
their Comcast.net email address. Twitter we see about 2000 tweets
each day, we respond to about 500 and out of that about 300 become a
conversation. Forums have between 600-1000 posts a day regarding our
brand. We use tools such as Radian 6 to track each of these
conversations. As a organization we do not have a centralize CRM
system (each area has their own), but we do use a support tool that
links to a database we built to track the Customer interactions within
social media. This information is available to other support areas as
well. This tools also makes it easier because now account information
is linked directly to social media user information, so now we can
easily access an account without the need for other data.2) Are all customers treated the same? Or should SCRM systems and
support staff treat members with different influence accordingly?As a Customer Service person I believe they should be treated the
same. When you base service on sphere of influence it is really just
PR and not service. I can also say today any person can become that
influencer. It is the reason whey I believe the importance of
Customer Affairs is rising in organizations. As an example there is a
video that is probably the biggest negative influence on the brand for
the company I work for, and that person only posted 2 videos.Where I do believe in treating differently is when an error was made
and needs to be corrected. No matter where that Customer contact us,
they need to be cared for properly.3) What tools and solutions are needed in the future to help social
support teams scale and respond quickly to customers using social
tools?I think companies have to think broader, beyond a centralized
engagement channel. We tend to think more about CRM solutions, tying
the Customer record to the social profile, and tools to operationalize
engagement. But there are tools that do these things. They will
continue to improve as we learn from different uses. To me the future
involves all employees being engaged, and providing them the tools as
well. There also needs a process for them to get something to the
right owner when necessary (to me that is what is seen as the
engagement team today). We know employees are already involved in
social media, and as this involvement grows, it is inevitable that
Customers will contact them. Help them be successful. Social media
will change the organization and this will be the biggest change.