No Bullshit Social Media

9. It’s About Them: Social Media Marketing Drives Customer Service

Customer service has changed a lot in the last decade. Before the mid-1990s, you needed to make a phone call to lodge complaints, solve problems, and fix errors, usually to a customer service representative at the company’s call center located at the company’s headquarters. Some software companies charged for customer service, which outraged customers and sent many of them online as a way to find different solutions.

With the advent of company websites and early social media tools like message boards, company-sanctioned forums arose as problem-solving places for customers. Even though many were poorly designed and confusing, the company got by with the response, “Just search ...