A couple of weeks ago I wrote some thoughts on Gary Vaynerchuk’s book The Thank You Economy and today I’d like to share a little more.
In Part 2 of the book, Vaynerchuk talks about the importance of great customer service and why it has to start from the top if you want to change a culture not just create a new corporate policy. One of the examples he gives is about Boloco, a Boston-based burrito chain. He tells the story of how the CEO of Boloco responded to a tweet he saw about music being too loud outside of one of their stores. He told the manager, who then turned down the music and went outside to make sure the customer was satisfied with the volume adjustment. Then the customer sent a tweet about, which in turn created more tweets about it. Eventually the customer wrote on her blog about too. Then of course now we know about it because of the book. All from one tweet to a CEO that cares enough to take care of his customers. If I am ever in Boston, you bet I’ll be trying their burritos!
This example shows that to be successful in today business world it’s not just about using social media, having more followers or having the best Facebook page, it’s about good old-fashioned customer service. What made this whole story carry more weight was the use of social media. First to find the initial tweet with the complaint, then the story took on a different picture as the customer chose to share her experience. But if the CEO didn’t get what Vaynerchuk is talking about, all the social media skills in the world would have never gotten the volume turned down in that store.
What kind of culture is your company or brand trying to cultivate and how does social media play into it?