Community-based service is a huge trend this year in customer service. What do I mean by community-based? I’m talking about message boards, forums, self-service-centers, etc. Why is this a big deal? If you haven’t heard about community-based service yet, you’re about to learn why it’s so great for businesses and customers alike.
Pros for Businesses and Customers: Community-Based service should help your business become more productive. If you have a place for customers to go and learn about your business or make suggestions—such as a customer feedback management system—you’re able to free up more of your time for other, more important things at work.
It also makes your customers feel more like a community. With software, such as The IdeaWall, you are able to find out what your customers want and need most from your business. This will definitely help you improve customer service and satisfaction.
Cons for Businesses and Customers: For businesses, this may mean you have to appoint, or hire a moderator for these communities. You can’t think short-term though, this has to be a long term goal. Yes, you may have to move someone from one job to being the moderator for your communities/forums, but you will have well organized community forums where your customers will create and vote on amazing ideas for your business. The only “con†I can think of from the customer’s perspective is that the business may not be able to implement your suggestion due to lack of popularity and or cost. Other than that, what customer doesn’t want to have a voice?
This is a great trend, which I hope continues to grow in the customer service industry. What do you think about community-based service?