A friend of mine recently passed along an interesting article that discussed the idea of how customer service utilizes PR efforts to maximize retention, loyalty, and satisfaction. With social networking, PR tools have become broader, more flexible and much more instantaneous in reaching the public. While PR is the communication practice of managing perception and establishing relationships. With customer service going through its own crisis in the downturn, borrowing PR’s flexibility and success tools to enhance the process is very smart.
With Twitter, Facebook and tons of other sites popping up each day, gathering feedback and addressing issues has become so much easier. From a PR perspective, notifying customers of an award, a special recognition for service or performance provides the opportunity to stay in touch with customers frequently, putting a stop in the days of sending outdated newsletters every two months or so that ended up in digital and/or real trash. With social media, customers feel empowered and engaged, which is good in many ways… and bad in some ways! That’s why monitoring social media are a full time job.