ANTenna Blog -- Business & E-Business

Are you still not convinced that using Web 2.0 tools to get in touch with your customers is incredibly effective? Check out Comcast's "digital care manager" whose sole job is to troll the Web responding to negative comments about the company. Yes, Comcast is a large enterprise but what this guy is doing is something your smaller business could do on a smaller scale.

The New York Times has an article about Frank Eliason, digital care manager at Comcast. This is how they describe his job: "From a sparse desk dominated by two computer screens in the new Comcast Center here, Mr. Eliason uses readily available online tools to monitor public comments on blogs, message boards and social networks for any mention of Comcast, the nation's largest cable company."

When Eliason sees a complaint, he contacts the person to try to "defuse the problem."

The article notes that Comcast was ranked at the "very bottom of the most recent American Customer Satisfaction Index," – that's no surprise to me. Aggreived customers even have a place to vent online about Comcast: ComcastMustDie.com.
Their effort to change the perception of the company and to provide better customer service is laudable and something smaller businesses could learn from.

Comcast isn't the only company taking advantage of online tools to reach out to customers: the article notes that Twitter is being used by Southwest Airlines uses to answer customer questions; by Whole Foods Market to posts details about discounts; and, by the CEO of Zappos to share details of his life with 7,200 "followers." (It is questionable whether that last one contributes to the company's bottom line.)

But it's Comcast that is taking the extra step of "talking back" and getting in touch with customers who are airing their grievances against the company online. While some find the Web 2.0 outreach slightly creepy (something to be careful of if you go this route) the talking back in general seems to be helping the company's image.

There is nothing Eliason and his staff, which has grown to 10, are doing that smaller businesses can't do on a smaller scale. The tools are free. It's just a matter of investing time and effort in getting online and "listening" to what your customers are saying, or not saying, about your business. Either way, you should know.