Hard to deny. Short post, short response. Both accurate!

Thank you from a small business owner. :)

We too often forget the first rule of doing business… don’t suck.

Hmmm… I don’t know that it will kill you as much as it will be too much effort in the wrong direction.

And, if you have poor customer service, your social media is just going to be a lot of damage control.

Social Media is a reflection of you and your business. If you have lousy customer service, chances are off the charts that you are going to have a lousy SM effort.

Love this, Peter, and couldn’t agree more.

Indeed. Despite the bells and whistles that make SM so cool, if the basics of business are not in place, you’re gonna flop!

It will kill you because customers can use social media platforms just as easily to slam your business as they can to say good things about it. Take care of your customers and THEY will use social media to drive more customers your way. I have seen this time and again with my own business. Also, it’s MUCH more powerful and effective when customers use these tools to talk about how great you are than when you do it yourself. Take care of your customers. I look at them as my social media interns. Free employees who work their tail ends off for you.

Goes back to one of our main beliefs: “just be a helpful human being”

We run 2 dental practices in Romania and have been following Peters sage comments for 2 years. The man is right a heckuva lot of the time.
And AGAIN he is spot on. As a bricks and mortar business Social Media helps us get exposure to new potential patients BUT patient care is the prioroty. We dont need vast numbers of patients what we need is patients who need our help and who we can care about.

Well done Peter Shankman

You, sir, need to stop making sense this instant.

I don’t think that Social Media can save a company with bad customer service, however having great customer service and great social media can really enhance a small business’s interaction with customers and in hand enhance their customer service even more.

Same thing I posted on your FB page. Bravo! Spot on! I like what Liz wrote. Thanks for making a lot of sense Peter. Here’s to your continued success. Thanks.

Bravo,Peter….far too many small businesses (and a lot of big ones too) simply think that being cute or funny in social media is going to increase their customers and their profits.

Doing what’s right for the customer is the only rule at the end of the day…

And, we should never forget that social media not only amplifies our successes, it will drastically amplify your mistakes as well.

Could not be more clear and to the point.

True. When the idea of something is better than reality. Thanks for a brief, but to-the-point look.

Absolutely brilliant. Concise and very, very true – customer service makes or breaks companies.

Every touch point with a customer is part of your branding. But how many companies–large or small–see customer service as part of their marketing?

Thank You for telling the world – and you put it such simple terms. I agree whole heartedly..

simple truth. Thanks for reminding us.

Short and to the point. Me likey. :)

Our local Fire Department’s Social Media is award winning… so good that they were going to start live streaming video of them fighting fires… So what if their social media rocks and they suck at fighting fires? then they would just be magnifying the issue to the whole world that they suck at fighting fires… You have to be GREAT at your core business and at satisfying the customer…. then you let them put a spotlight on it with social media.

Go, Peter! Deep roots keep the tree growing tall and wide.

Couldn’t agree more!

When people ask you what business you are in, if you are not answering “I’m in the Customer Service Business”, you’re only half right. Whatever business you are in, you are in the customer service business. If you think otherwise, I’ve got a bridge I want to sell you.

Customers like to talk and the stories they tell are based on the experiences they have with you. Give them a good experience and they’ll tell others who will want to do business with you too. Give them a bad experience and they’ll tell others who will avoid your company like the plague.

The choice is yours.

We always strive to be THE best in our niche market in customer service – WOWING each customer!

As someone who has worked for a Fortune 500 company’s customer service department, I would say it also depends on the customer’s perception and expectation of what great service is.

Sometimes the most obvious strategies are forgotten.

Focus. Focus on whats important every day.

Thank you for making the point. You can tweet all you want but if you don’t have the structure and support to serve your clients then you have to ask yourself, what am I doing?

Straight and to the point. Now that’s a valuable tweet – Love it. Thank you!

Foiled Cupcakes has great customer service but would be dead WITHOUT social media.

Just to be a contrarian.

Too true! We discuss this in my SM and Networking classes all the time – I’m so glad that customer service is coming back into fashion!

We use social media to introduce ourselves to potential clients and to be a source of credible information in animal health. We KNOW that we have to WOW these clients when they come in and ask for their feedback via follow up letters to any new clients! So true Peter!

I think it stands to reason that web-only retailers need to go the extra customer-service mile — it’s also important to THANK a customer for choosing to do business with you. A little “gift” in the order or even an actual thank-you note (or a follow-up telephone call, just to say thanks) really goes a long way to establishing a meaningful relationship.

Peter, you are playing catch up I’ve been banging on about this for a over a year. When SME clients say to me ‘what should I be doing with social media? everyone’s talking about it I’m missing the boat.’ I say ‘nothing’ you can barely keep in regular contact with existing customers or update your website regularly. Get the basics right before jumping on the social media bandwagon.

Vocês desejam me destruir? Essa história de social média… O que ela me rendeu até agora? Eu tento me associar a isso e aquilo, mas tudo é tão inútil pra mim… O meu disqus está lá… Não presta pra nada… Está desativado ou sei lá… eu gosto do add this e do add hons… Quero fazer o possível para me garantir, mas… O que se há de fazer se tudo isso não passa de uma grande piada… Todo mundo me enche com os seus papos- furados… Eu tenho coisas até pra jogar fora se eu quiser… já que vocês não me oferecem nada… eu vou distribuir o que tenho… Se quiserem realmente me ajudar, coloquem dinheiro na minha conta aqui no Brasil. mas não me enganem com esse blá-blá-blá futurístico… Eu estou agora, em busca de resultados.

Online media hasn’t quite taken off up here in Regina, Saskatchewan but more and more people are talking about companies on Twitter and Facebook. Whether the comments are good or bad they usually bread even more stories. I wrote about a terrible night we had when a local restaurant ruin a friends engagement party here (http://jephmaystruck.com/your-.....say-it-is/).
Obviously customer service is going to be a very profitable strategy in the future.

Great read.

Cheers,

Jeph

Well, I should recommend that Social Media and Customer Service should be use together in making sure that our sites both have targeted visitors and delivered outstanding customer support to our client.

In bidbass.com, we both use this two strategy.

So, I was sitting in the bookstore the other day (I like a coffee with my blog) and I overheard this conversation (the speaker is a middle aged woman who introduced herself later as a “social media consultant.”

“You need to be on facebook,” said the woman.
[no idea what the other person on the phone said]
“Because you like stuff on facebook, and when you like stuff, people like your stuff, and that makes you money.”

Contrast that with what shankman is saying…

Wow – someone actually had the guts to come out and finally say it. Social media won’t save your small business.

I have a twitter account for my business, and a blog for SEO, but I don’t for one second expect social media to make my business suddenly begin growing.

Customer Service – spot on:) I love it.

Clinton

Yes…this is what a lot of businesses forget. Social media is not for everyone. This is something they must build to. Starting out, its probably a waste of time, but when used correctly it can be a lethal weapon.

Good one again, Peter.

Great Customer Service and they will come!

Well said Peter. Social media should be an extension of you and customer service. If your customer service sucks, your presence will suck and you will suck in general.