While doing a little test on what customers are saying live on Twitter regarding customer service, I noticed that while a multitude of complaints was “Tweeted”, they were very few responses from the company in question.

Some of these companies are household names! It was as if all of the negative comments were visible for all to see, yet no one within the organization was even aware of the remarks. Imagine the damage being done to the brands of these organizations by not responding live to start a conversation to address the concern.

It’s important to know and respond to what your customer is “Tweeting” about your organization. I would think it’s important for prospective customers to see that someone within your organization is on top of the complaints and is seeking to engage with the complainant.

Imagine the points “scored” by your organization in the eyes of current and prospective customers when they see that you’re on top of the situation. Ready and responsive! Those are two keywords regarding customer complaints. Be ready and available for customer complaints and then respond quickly when one is received.

Just as the complainant has placed an issue with your organization in front of the Twitter nation, respond in front of Twitter nation by inviting the complainant to contact your organization directly (provide the appropriate contact info) for a resolution. I have seen complainants “Tweet” about how happy they were that their issue was addressed and resolved.

Some organizations may feel that it’s not necessary to monitor Twitter for customer service-related issues. I say think again! If the average person utilizing Twitter has let’s say 400 followers and perhaps 20% of those followers actually see the posted complaint, that’s 80 people.

Now if these 80 people retweet the complaint to their 400 followers and again 20% see the retweet, that’s 80 more people who are now aware of a customer complaint against your organization. This can quickly get out of hand. By responding live to the issue, these same people may be made aware of your organization’s attempt to resolve the issue.

Believe it or not, customers still love to talk about their experiences. Social media provides an additional avenue for them to utilize to express both their satisfaction and dissatisfaction with your product or service. Just as you would respond to a customer’s face-to-face or over-the-phone complaint, develop a strategy for monitoring and responding to Twitter complaints. Your brand is at stake!