Paul Greenberg, an analyst from the 56 group, says that Salesforce.com has not only been innovative in fashioning the proper technology, but smart in its approach to start with customer service (instead of sales) when it comes to connecting its products with social networks. Social networking users, especially on Twitter, don't want to be sold to directly unless they ask for it. Instead, they want to have conversations with companies about their products.
"The Twitter-verse would not respond well to pushing sales down that channel," he says. "When push comes to shove, the uber-benefit of dealing with these external social channels is customer service."
Many companies have had success using social networking applications, specifically Twitter, to respond to customer inquiries. Frank Eliason, a customer service representative from Comcast who runs the Comcast Cares Twitter page, has become a notable figure in social media circles by responding to messages concerning the cable company's products. He says he has been in discussions with Salesforce.com about its Cloud Services product, because, in addition to social networking add-ons, it works with core customer service technologies that have existed for years.
"We are not using it at this time, but we are working with them and sharing our expertise," he says. "We would consider it. It is nice because it integrates the variety of communications channels a customer may choose such as phone, email, chat or social media, such as Twitter. It also helps to align the data from each method."
Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.