Always Be Listening
- Posted August 27th, 2008
- Filed under: Customer Service, Events/Presentation, Technology
We feel so strongly about finding the best tools and procedures for turning our customer’s conversations into new product features that we convinced a few of our high-profile friends to join us in telling some inside secrets. And they are doing it publicly (if we can get your help voting us in!) as part of the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Conference’s panel discussion titled “Customer Service is the New RD.”
The current lineup includes:
- Sean Ransom, BatchBlue.com
- Sunir Shah, FreshBooks.com
- Mario Sundar, LinkedIn.com
- Lane Becker, GetSatisfaction.com
The plan is to talk with these folks about the tools they are using to connect with customers and how these conversations are integrated back into the product development process. It’s easy to say you are listening to your customers, but unless you can act on what they are saying and give them what they need it is not a very productive conversation.
But listening is not an easy task when conversations are happening in so many different places. Proving the point, Lane volunteered himself for this panel when he read our description on the conference’s interactive panel picker and submitted a comment. Now we get to meet (and pick the brain of) a really cool guy who’s built an entire company around being constructive with customer feedback.
The SXSW Conference itself is a model in positive customer interaction. Though they receive 1000s of submissions for panel ideas, they review each individually and send a PERSONAL NOTE to each potential panelist. As Hugh at SXSW so nicely put it, “in the inter-connected web world, the more that you can do to provide top quality customer service . . the more likely that your business will survive and prosper.”
We love this conference and are excited to see what the online community helps them develop as their next product; the 2009 show.
And a few of our recommendations:
- And our own resident geeky do-gooder Michelle Riggen Ransom submitted a SXSW panel idea exploring ways folks are using “Social Media for Social Change.”
- And Adam highlights some great choices on his personal blog.
Please remember to add your voice by voting for your favorite panels. It’s a great way as a customer to Always Be Talking!
