Thursday, April 17, 2008

Do we need "Community Managers"?

How do you listen to your customers? The traditional customer service model worked more through auto-generated email messages which generally gets dumped in trash-can, a suggestion box like you must have seen in most fast food joints or even a customer service toll free number in case you want to say “your service sucks!”. So when businesses know that customer service is one of the quintessential ingredients for customer satisfaction then why still going like in the old ways?


Still there is some good and bad news for those marketing executives or business owners. Social media may change the way you intercept your customers who wants to say something about your brand/product/service. Isn’t that what we have been talking for a while i.e. active participation or engagement to its truest sense? And oh how much we spend in that…I don’t think much! And the bad news is in the resistance factor from different businesses. Somebody will say is it possible or the old system works fine.


Don’t get me wrong here. I am just trying to say, the old model may work just fine but don’t you think your customers have moved a long way in the complex and media fragmented world where customer touch-points have increased. So why haven’t you?


After all this, the need for Community Managers is very evidential. They act as customer service reps, evangelists or sometimes the public faces for their company. In this regard, this article will provide a clear perspective about how Twitter(@sampad) is being used by companies to service their customers in a better way. Blogger Mario Sundar posted a list of the community managers he found on Twitter (which I edited to remove the people whose Twitter username he couldn't find):


1. Will Pate: Community Evangelist - ConceptShare (@willpate)

2. Mario Sundar: Community Evangelist - Linkedin (@mariosundar)

3. Eric Skiff: Community Evangelist - Clipmarks (@ericskiff)

4. Marilyn Pratt: Community Evangelist - SAP Labs (@marilynpratt)

5. Brett Meyers: Community Evangelist - Zloop (@brettmeyers)

6. Ryan Knight: Community Manager - Yahoo (@yank)

7. Jennifer Puckett : Community Manager - Disney (?)

8. Jim Lynch: Community Manager - Ziff Davis (@jwlynch)

9. Jake McKee: Community Guy - Formerly Lego (@jakemckee)

10. William Azaroff: Community Engagement - VanCity (@wazaroff)

11. Carole McManus: Community Specialist, formerly Yahoo 360 (@puttopal)

12. Asa Dotzler: Catastrophist, Mozilla (@asadotzler)

13. Anand Iyer: Developer Evangelist - Microsoft (@anandiyer)

14. Damon Billian: Director of Customer Evangelism - Mint (@dbillian)

15. Domini Perri: Community Manager, Utterz - (@domjp)

16. Daniel Ha: Disqus (@danielha)


This will not only help understand your customers in a better way but also let your customers feel that “you are there to care”. Now you decide that does modern day businesses need “Community Managers”?


Thursday, April 17, 2008

Do we need "Community Managers"?

How do you listen to your customers? The traditional customer service model worked more through auto-generated email messages which generally gets dumped in trash-can, a suggestion box like you must have seen in most fast food joints or even a customer service toll free number in case you want to say “your service sucks!”. So when businesses know that customer service is one of the quintessential ingredients for customer satisfaction then why still going like in the old ways?


Still there is some good and bad news for those marketing executives or business owners. Social media may change the way you intercept your customers who wants to say something about your brand/product/service. Isn’t that what we have been talking for a while i.e. active participation or engagement to its truest sense? And oh how much we spend in that…I don’t think much! And the bad news is in the resistance factor from different businesses. Somebody will say is it possible or the old system works fine.


Don’t get me wrong here. I am just trying to say, the old model may work just fine but don’t you think your customers have moved a long way in the complex and media fragmented world where customer touch-points have increased. So why haven’t you?


After all this, the need for Community Managers is very evidential. They act as customer service reps, evangelists or sometimes the public faces for their company. In this regard, this article will provide a clear perspective about how Twitter(@sampad) is being used by companies to service their customers in a better way. Blogger Mario Sundar posted a list of the community managers he found on Twitter (which I edited to remove the people whose Twitter username he couldn't find):


1. Will Pate: Community Evangelist - ConceptShare (@willpate)

2. Mario Sundar: Community Evangelist - Linkedin (@mariosundar)

3. Eric Skiff: Community Evangelist - Clipmarks (@ericskiff)

4. Marilyn Pratt: Community Evangelist - SAP Labs (@marilynpratt)

5. Brett Meyers: Community Evangelist - Zloop (@brettmeyers)

6. Ryan Knight: Community Manager - Yahoo (@yank)

7. Jennifer Puckett : Community Manager - Disney (?)

8. Jim Lynch: Community Manager - Ziff Davis (@jwlynch)

9. Jake McKee: Community Guy - Formerly Lego (@jakemckee)

10. William Azaroff: Community Engagement - VanCity (@wazaroff)

11. Carole McManus: Community Specialist, formerly Yahoo 360 (@puttopal)

12. Asa Dotzler: Catastrophist, Mozilla (@asadotzler)

13. Anand Iyer: Developer Evangelist - Microsoft (@anandiyer)

14. Damon Billian: Director of Customer Evangelism - Mint (@dbillian)

15. Domini Perri: Community Manager, Utterz - (@domjp)

16. Daniel Ha: Disqus (@danielha)


This will not only help understand your customers in a better way but also let your customers feel that “you are there to care”. Now you decide that does modern day businesses need “Community Managers”?


Thursday, April 17, 2008

Do we need "Community Managers"?

How do you listen to your customers? The traditional customer service model worked more through auto-generated email messages which generally gets dumped in trash-can, a suggestion box like you must have seen in most fast food joints or even a customer service toll free number in case you want to say “your service sucks!”. So when businesses know that customer service is one of the quintessential ingredients for customer satisfaction then why still going like in the old ways?


Still there is some good and bad news for those marketing executives or business owners. Social media may change the way you intercept your customers who wants to say something about your brand/product/service. Isn’t that what we have been talking for a while i.e. active participation or engagement to its truest sense? And oh how much we spend in that…I don’t think much! And the bad news is in the resistance factor from different businesses. Somebody will say is it possible or the old system works fine.


Don’t get me wrong here. I am just trying to say, the old model may work just fine but don’t you think your customers have moved a long way in the complex and media fragmented world where customer touch-points have increased. So why haven’t you?


After all this, the need for Community Managers is very evidential. They act as customer service reps, evangelists or sometimes the public faces for their company. In this regard, this article will provide a clear perspective about how Twitter(@sampad) is being used by companies to service their customers in a better way. Blogger Mario Sundar posted a list of the community managers he found on Twitter (which I edited to remove the people whose Twitter username he couldn't find):


1. Will Pate: Community Evangelist - ConceptShare (@willpate)

2. Mario Sundar: Community Evangelist - Linkedin (@mariosundar)

3. Eric Skiff: Community Evangelist - Clipmarks (@ericskiff)

4. Marilyn Pratt: Community Evangelist - SAP Labs (@marilynpratt)

5. Brett Meyers: Community Evangelist - Zloop (@brettmeyers)

6. Ryan Knight: Community Manager - Yahoo (@yank)

7. Jennifer Puckett : Community Manager - Disney (?)

8. Jim Lynch: Community Manager - Ziff Davis (@jwlynch)

9. Jake McKee: Community Guy - Formerly Lego (@jakemckee)

10. William Azaroff: Community Engagement - VanCity (@wazaroff)

11. Carole McManus: Community Specialist, formerly Yahoo 360 (@puttopal)

12. Asa Dotzler: Catastrophist, Mozilla (@asadotzler)

13. Anand Iyer: Developer Evangelist - Microsoft (@anandiyer)

14. Damon Billian: Director of Customer Evangelism - Mint (@dbillian)

15. Domini Perri: Community Manager, Utterz - (@domjp)

16. Daniel Ha: Disqus (@danielha)


This will not only help understand your customers in a better way but also let your customers feel that “you are there to care”. Now you decide that does modern day businesses need “Community Managers”?