Twitter Helps Comcast Satisfy Users

Some companies still don’t “get” social media, they don’t see the point. Well one important use is to connect with your customers and manage your reputation. US cable company Comcast has been doing that on Twitter and it seems to have worked.

According to the University of Michigan’s American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Comcast’s rating rose a massive 9 points in Q1 2009, more than any other cable and satellite provider.

At least part of this is thought to be due to Comcast actively using Twitter to support users. The company employs ten people to monitor Twitter for references to Comcast or unflattering variants. If they see a problem they think they can help with then they make contact personally. Comcast’s director of digital care Frank Eliason said:

Twitter allows us to communicate with our customers where they already are — they don’t have to pick up the phone or write an e-mail. I encourage my team to use their real names and pictures, not the Comcast logo, so we develop personal relationships with them.

Of course Twitter doesn’t replace traditional helpdesk channels – the company has around 70,000 people who interact with customers. However where Twitter usage makes sense it can provide a customer with a feeling of personal service often missing from big corporations.

The real surprise isn’t so much that Comcast are using Twitter this way but that there are still some companies that aren’t.