????如果說某些企業使用社交媒體后反而不那么愛跟顧客打交道了，那可真讓人吃驚不小。事實上，社交媒體不但沒有拉近企業和客戶之間的距離，反而可能會讓雙方漸行漸遠。觀察了那些最不受客戶待見的企業后，我發現，如果被問及用戶支持情況如何，這類企業都會說：“我們當然提供客戶支持。我們有在線社區和論壇、自助服務網站，還有能讓用戶互相學習的工具。”

????毫無疑問，“社交化”是企業實現對等用戶參與的強大渠道，這一點已經得到了充分的展示。比如，公司博客、眾包（crowd-sourced）論壇和在線社區，都是讓充滿熱情的用戶進行互動的絕佳平臺，也經常是企業收集、了解用戶對各種產品、服務評論的最快捷通道。對于某些產品或問題，甚至有可能直接獲得答復。

????盡管這些“社交”工具對用戶來說是價值非凡的財富，但對越來越多的企業而言，社交工具已經不再是用于客戶支持的有力助手，它們似乎已經成為客戶支持的全部，而其他與用戶互動的關鍵節點則被企業嚴重忽視，甚至干脆棄而不用。當某位用戶打算購買某個產品、或當他們有特定問題時——他們常常必須費盡周折地上網直接和公司聯系，才能獲得想要的答案。

????這些企業讓客戶去考慮欠妥的社交平臺解決問題，其實是在冒險傳達這樣一種訊息：“你們要是有問題，那就自己聊吧。無論如何，別來煩我們就行。”而來自眾包領域的一個委婉說法是，一些興致勃勃的網友圍繞著一個他們特別感興趣的話題“蜂擁”而來。要知道，蜂擁這個說法是針對蜜蜂的。而且盡管“蜂擁”的做法能增加價值，蜜蜂們能產出蜂蜜，但在這個過程中你也可能會被蟄到。

????“社交”的含義遠不止于Facebook、Twitter和同業社區，客戶對社交這個概念抱有更高的期望。在我們生活中，如果有誰對社交不以為然，我們肯定難以接受。而且這個詞兒充滿了積極的情緒聯想。如果說某人“非常擅于社交”，那絕對是贊美之辭。社交的方式包括短信、電話、郵件、博客、twitter、聊天，既有真實世界的聚會，也有虛擬社區的交流。

????企業也是如此。我相信，當一位潛在客戶想買東西時，或者一位客戶需要支持時，每個珍視用戶的企業都應該為他們提供選擇的余地，讓他們能通過自己喜歡的溝通渠道、在他們愿意的時間，與企業交流。只有當企業能為客戶提供靈活的選擇，讓他們獲得“正確回復”而不僅僅是“有一個回復”而已時，才能建立起親密的客戶關系。只有在這種多維度、多渠道，以及毋庸置疑的社交化的世界中才能做成買賣，實現股東價值。

????毫無疑問，用戶社區和自助式門戶網站是客戶體驗的重要組成部分——然而當這些渠道不能提供正確答復時，企業親自解答問題的過程就是實現差異化的最好契機。要從社區的海量信息中發現客戶提出的疑難問題，難度有多大？可以運用哪些溝通渠道？操作人員了解自助式服務和社區互動的背景嗎？最后，正確的回復是否再次回到自助式服務和社區應用中，以便幫助其他用戶？

????從另一個角度來看，社交用戶服務如果實施得法，會讓企業輕而易舉、低投入高產出地贏得用戶的心。通過用戶喜歡的溝通渠道，在正確的時機向正確的用戶提供正確的答復，就能營造一種差異化的用戶體驗。能夠了解用戶特點，理解用戶的溝通喜好，并能快速精確地提供購買或使用某種產品或服務所需的信息的公司，用戶將會把它們牢記在心，視如珍寶。服務與銷售之間的界限正在變得日益模糊，如果不能將每次與用戶或潛在用戶的互動視作一次增值的良機，股東最終也會蒙受損失。

????企業“社交化”的真諦是為顧客創造真正的價值，深入有效地提供他們所需要的信息，讓顧客滿意，把他們變成企業和品牌的長期忠實用戶。

????湯姆?凱利是莫科西軟件公司（Moxie Software）的總裁兼首席執行官。作為一位技術行業的資深人士，湯姆在多個領導崗位上擁有超過25年的管理經驗。從初創的軟件公司，到資產幾十億美元的行業巨擘，他在許多高層管理職位上都以具有強大的領導力著稱，這些職位涉及業務發展、銷售、財務和運營。

????譯者：清遠

????Saying that social is being used to make some companies less social sounds shocking. But in reality, rather than bringing companies and customers closer together, it could be forcing them further apart. When I look at the companies who are the least loved by their customers, they're almost always the ones that, if you ask them about customer support, respond, "Sure, we have that covered...through our online communities and forums, self-services sites, and other tools where customers can learn from each other."

????"Social" has demonstrated beyond all doubt that it's a powerful channel for companies to enable peer-to-peer customer engagement. Company blogs, crowd-sourced forums, and online communities, for example, are great at connecting enthusiastic users with each other, and often are the quickest way to gather and contribute reviews and opinions about a product or service. For certain products or questions, you might even get answers.

????While these "social" tools are great assets for customers, the sad truth is that for a growing list of companies, social tools are no longer an adjunct to their customer support efforts; it has become the whole ball game, and other critical interaction points with customers are being severely neglected or abandoned. When customers are ready to purchase or have a specific question – they are often required to jump through hoops to connect directly with the company to get the right answer.

????The message companies risk communicating by directing customers to poorly thought-out social solutions is, "Hey, if you have a problem, go talk to each other. But whatever you do, don't bother us." The euphemism from the crowd-sourcing world is that interested individuals "swarm" around a topic of particular interest. But swarms, though, are for bees. And while swarming can add value and bees produce honey, you can also get stung.

????"Social" goes beyond Facebook, Twitter and peer communities, and customers expect more than that. We have a low tolerance for cavalier attitudes toward social in other parts of our lives, and the very word is replete with positive emotional associations. Describing someone as "a very social person" is a great compliment. Social is texting and talking, letters and blogs, tweeting and chatting, and gathering in person as well as in a virtual community or world.

????It's the same with companies. I believe that when a prospect wants to buy something or a customer needs support, every company that values its customers needs to offer the option for customers to communicate through their preferred communication channel at the time of their choosing. Customer intimacy can only be created when companies provide flexible options for customers to get "the right answer" as opposed to just "an answer." Business is conducted and shareholder value is created in a multi-dimensional, multi-channel, and yes, in social world.

????There is no question that customer communities and self-service portals are an important part of the experience – but when the right answer is not available, the escalation into the company is the opportunity for a company to differentiate itself. How easy is it to escalate out of the community? Which communication channels are available? Is the agent provided with the context of the self-service and community interaction? And ultimately is the right answer sourced back into the self-service and community apps to help other customers?

????Here's another way of looking at it: social customer service done properly gives your company an easy, cost-effective way to be a hero. Providing the right answers to the right people at the right time using the channel of their choice offers a differentiated customer experience. Customers will remember and value companies that know who they are, understand how they want to communicate, and can quickly and precisely provide the information needed to buy or use a product or service. The lines between service and sales continue to blur, and failing to treat every customer or prospect interaction as a value add opportunity will be, in the end, a shareholder value loss.

????This is what social really needs to be: a method of creating real value for customers, connecting them deeply and efficiently with the information they need to become – and then stay – satisfied, long-term customers of the companies and brands that matter to them.

????Tom Kelly is the President and CEO of Moxie Software Inc. Tom is a veteran of the technology industry, with more than 25 years of experience working in numerous executive leadership roles. From software start-ups to billion-dollar technology companies, he has an established reputation of leadership in a wide range of executive management roles including strategic business development, sales, finance and operations.