Listening in Social Media - The Dell example

For those of you who don’t know me well, I often keep up to date on the latest tech news and am constantly researching how companies market themselves online and how they reach their customers. One of the newest trends that some brave companies are trying, is reaching customers via social media. So, I tried an experiment, and one that ended up with quite the ending…

I signed on to my Twitter account @jeremymclean. ( for those of you who don’t know what Twitter is, its a social micro blogging tool that is popular among young to middle aged professionals). I simply typed the following message “Hey #Dell I know your out there listening, looking for a Canadian coupon code for a Vostro 1320. If the price is right you have a sale:)”. Within a few minutes I had a reply from one of the Dell sales reps kindly introducing himself and another rep that could help me out. We exchanged some details about what I was looking for and bamm! I had a coupon code in my hands ready to use.

Dell may not always be the best company in the world but in some areas they are moving in the right direction. I knew I was going to buy a laptop from Dell but when was the question in mind. Through social media I got a call to action from a sales rep giving me a one day only sales coupon. One day sales coupons are brilliant in itself but listening to what people are saying is even smarter.

Dell uses Radian6, who is one of the leaders in tracking and “listening” to what people are saying about brands, keywords, etc.  This is important to companies that want to make the entire customer experience a better one. Having people listening in the same space as where you talk to friends about your experiences just makes sense, and I’m glad companies like Radian6 are realizing its full potential. If you are on Twitter I highly recommend following @davidalston. The guy knows his stuff and fully understands how business and social media can work.

I ended up buying a Vostro 1320 for a friend and got it for an amazing price. I constantly check prices of laptops and  hardware specs and I got one amazing deal! Why? Because Dell chose to listen to its customers. I’ve had bad experiences with Dell in the past, but an experience like this shows which direction the company is heading in. If a large company like Dell is smart enough to listen to its customers then you should  to. If you cannot afford to have a Radian6 working for you, then try out Twitter and use its various free search capabilities. It’s built in search is good enough to see what people are saying about your company, brand, or keywords. After you sign up for Twitter you can find the search link at the bottom of your page. Click advanced search and enter in some terms.

If you like this Blog or have any questions, ideas, or other ways to “listen” to your customers then please share!

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