Recently, an example supporting why it’s necessary for organizations to educate their staff on their social media practices was forwarded to me. It concerns Coach, that high-end brand for bags and purses.
The customer wrote an email to the company and received what I consider a great resolution. However, when the customer asked about their Twitter account, they didn’t exactly get the response they were hoping for.
After doing a few quick searches on Google, it’s obvious there are many knock-off, fake “Coach” Twitter accounts, but only one verified one (@Coach). It’s important to take pride and reinforce the brand and their official assets in a market where counterfeits are all around.
The quotes from this exchange are below. Personal details have been redacted.
It starts off with the main customer inquiry being resolved to their satisfaction.
Dear [REDACTED],
Thank you for your e-mail.
Per your request we have submitted an order for [REDACTED]. Please allow 1-2 weeks to receive your package via US Mail.
If you need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
[REDACTED]
COACH Online Consumer Service
Then, the customer wanted to know what the company’s official Twitter account was.
Thank you very much!
Do you have an official Twitter account? I’d love to say thanks there too.
The customer support representative did technically answer the customer’s question in the affirmative, but did not provide a link or a Twitter account name to help them.
Dear [REDACTED],
Thank you for your inquiry.
Yes, we do have an official Coach Twitter account.
If you need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
[REDACTED]
COACH Online Consumer Service
Social media assets are no different than a phone number or a website. Sometimes customers don’t have all the time to dig for it. And sometimes, it’s powerful when customer support is able to super-serve the customer and drive even more word-of-mouth. Considering they sell $500 bags based on the brand — not necessarily the cost of the materials — supporting the brand and driving loyalty are opportunities they can’t waste.
Just a tip for the Coach marketing team, it would be a good idea to add this information into the signatures of support staff as well as educate them about how (and where) the company engages on Twitter.
