Airlines use Twitter and other social tools to revolutionize customer service

Airlines are setting themselves apart through their use of social media tools.

Airlines have become leaders in adopting social media strategies. They’re using tools like Twitter to simplify customer contact and response by proactively monitoring and responding to online chatter. For flyers who have lost luggage or missed a flight, the immediacy of social media-based feedback could render toll-free numbers and website feedback forms – the customer service equivalent of a brick wall – obsolete.
In an industry where every airline essentially sells the same commoditized service, airlines that use social media to turn disappointed customers into happy ones, or to simply enhance the travel experience, are already setting themselves apart and building loyalty.
“There are a couple of interesting things about social media,” says Joe Fernandez, CEO of Klout, an industry analytics provider. “It allows for really quick, direct interaction. But it also strikes fear in the hearts of these airlines in terms of how they treat people because these bad experiences can be amplified so quickly.”
“There’s huge value in instant feedback,” says Hounslow, “but it goes the other way, too. If somebody has an experience that doesn’t live up to expectations, these tools give us a chance to find solutions to the problem. It doesn’t take months to figure it out; it happens almost immediately.”
There can be a dark side, though. Social media-based customer service initiatives can backfire if the organizational culture doesn’t support them.