As a customer, how do big companies communicate with you? Does that communication feel cold and impersonal?

Massive out-dialing campaigns and email blasts just don’t cut it anymore for corporate communication. One could argue that they have never been effective. But, for many years, there were no other options that scaled well for mass communication.

How can companies communicate with their customers on a more personal level today? Beyond in-person communication, which is still the most effective, in this Web 2.0 world, what mode of communication can actually improve customer retention and brand loyalty?

I’ve recently noticed big companies flocking to Twitter. Twitter is a Web 2.0, social conversation service. It is most effective as a micro-blogging tool where each post has to be summarized in 140 characters or less. So, each post is equal to one (hopefully complete) thought. It is especially effective at simulating water cooler conversations for distributed participants.

On Twitter, you find individuals that are of some interest to you (personally and/or professionally) and follow them. Their posts are then combined with all of the posts from the people you follow into a stream of conversations also known as your feed.

It’s a simple concept, really, but Twitter users don’t limit their posts to corporate jargon. Sure, you’ll find plenty of that. But often, Twitter users’ posts are more personal (in a good way of course). Because of this, you feel more connected to the people you follow than if you were simply reading their blog, listening to their podcast or getting email from them.

So, how should companies use Twitter to communicate to their customers? I see three main tactics that are being used today with varying effectiveness.

Just the Facts Ma’am

Some companies on Twitter use the medium in exactly the same way they use email. Their posts feel like they’ve been through 3 layers of marketing and 2 layers of legal (or maybe its the other way around). There is no personality behind the company, just the cold, hard facts.

Obviously, this isn’t the right approach to use on Twitter. My advice to companies doing this: go back to bulk email and snail-mail. You obviously don’t get social networking and collaboration.

Add the Personal Touch

A better use of Twitter is to put a personality behind the company name. Give ownership of the company’s Twitter feed to an individual or a small group and give them some freedom (this is where all of the corporate lawyers get nervous).

@coldfusion is a great example of this. @mikeysan is a Macintosh/iPhone developer that I follow. He had an issue with Adobe’s Cold Fusion and posted his opinion on Twitter:

@coldfusion responded with this:

You see what happened here? There is a real person behind @coldfusion and their sense of humor came out in the response. I personally found this very funny and it improved my brand awareness of Adobe’s Cold Fusion in the process. This level of intimacy with customers simply isn’t possible with email.

Represent

Another very effective way for companies to use Twitter is to allow individual representation. In other words, allow some (preferably high level) employees to represent the company in this public forum. The reason that high-level participants are preferred is due to name recognition. A John Chambers or Bill Gates are sure to attract a large group of followers. But it doesn’t have to be someone that high up the chain.

Padmasree Warrior is Cisco’s new Chief Technology Officer. She is also on Twitter. Her posts are sometimes personal and sometimes professional (just like many Twitter users). For example, last night, I know that Padmasree had a very long day and she was about to relax and watch the Olympics with a glass of wine:

On the other hand, I’ve actually had a conversation with her on Twitter about what the “next phase of the Internet” really means. You can click ont eh thumbnail image to read the whole conversation if you are interested.

Another note to companies: This is the most effective and appropriate use of Twitter. Customers feel a real connection to your company leaders and it will go a long way towards customer retention.

Here are a few companies that I know about on Twitter. I either follow them directly or I’ve seen them mentioned in conversations from users that I follow.

@comcastcares – Comcast
@Marvel – Marvel Comics
@coldfusion – Adobe Cold Fusion
@ciscoit – Cisco IT
@Cisco_UC – Cisco Unified Communications
@ev – Even Williams (a co-founder of Twitter)
@danyork – (Voxeo CTO Office)
@kevinrose – Founder of Digg
@appleinc – Apple, Inc.

What companies do you follow on Twitter? Are they using Twitter effectively?

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