**Over the past few years, social media customer service has reached the mainstream. Yet some still find it hard to master. **

Using twitter for customer service

Many customers use channels like Twitter and Facebook to express their good and bad stories. Some companies are very quick at replying, to either thank them for the positive feedback or are there to help with anything that may have gone wrong.

Twitter seems to be the place to interact with brands. So we discuss the platform and its relationship with customer service in a bit more detail.

It’s public

The fact that Twitter is public is a good thing. It enables you to have a one-to-one interaction with a customer, with an audience. If an issue is resolved quickly, people who view the conversation will know that the issue has been resolved in a good amount of time. Some conversations may be private – either over the phone or via direct message – but when the exchange is over, the brand can always thank the person for the opportunity to help them.

Wider distribution

If you have a particularly good conversation with a customer, not only can your existing followers track it in real-time, but you will be able to retweet any specific comments to a wider audience.

Increase in customer satisfaction

Companies that use Twitter as a channel for customer service are seeing up to a 19% increase in customer satisfaction.


According to research, the average cost of a Twitter response is much cheaper than the average cost of a response from a dedicated call center.

How to deliver good customer service on Twitter:

  1. Be friendly and show empathy.
  2. When you offer to help, come across as a human being, rather than a faceless company using a script.
  3. Try to use the customer’s name if possible, rather than just their Twitter handle.
  4. Ensure the person using the Twitter account uses his/her name as well.
  5. Respond as quickly as possible. Research proves that the quicker you are at responding, the more likely the customer will do business with you again.

Read and comment on the original Forbes article.