By Emily Mouyeos*

Sometimes I picture Biz Stone sitting at a bar with his friends laughing about how millions of people have adopted words like Twitter, tweet and TweetUp into their everyday vocabulary. Like many of you, I spent last year attending forums, webinars, and even conferences exploring how social media is relevant to our perspective businesses. It’s undeniable that social platforms such as Twitter have changed the way our clients communicate with us. Individuals now have a digital soapbox that can be used to praise or defame in a matter of seconds.

I wouldn’t deem myself a social media expert, but I do know that using social media to connect with my clients has proven to be very helpful. Are you familiar with the saying, “The squeaky wheel gets all the attention?” In the world of client service, we all know our squeaky wheels and naturally they take up a large portion of our time trying to remedy them. But what about the clients you never hear from?

Generally, it’s a good idea to “let the sleeping dogs lie.” However, this can be disastrous in account management. I know plenty of account managers who have thought to themselves, “If only I knew!” The majority of the time there is an easy solution to an issue the client may be facing. Yet, there are several reasons that can keep a client from expressing a need or frustration. The most common is time. The client may seem to be sleeping on your end, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t barking up someone else’s tree. Now with social media, it is easier than ever to find out what your client’s think about your product or service. Simply log on!

Engaging in the booming world of social media will allow you to find the clients that may not contact you directly. By monitoring and engaging social media, you can join your client’s in the living room of their digital house. The client can receive help without doing anything outside of their normal routine. This helps you to not only meet a client’s need; it also saves them time. A long list of companies have reportedly benefited from creating a social media presence to monitor and engage their customer base (Zappos, Best Buy, Bank of America, and of course us here at BurrellesLuce, just to name a few.) You may think monitoring your client’s social media activity seems too much like Big Brother. In the end, however, it simply shows the client you care and that you are listening. This year I’ll continue to scour my client’s digital soapboxes to ensure I don’t have any ticking time bombs out there. Check out this post from Mashable.com on how to integrate social media into your current practices.

Do you think companies should use social media to service and manage clientele? What victories or pitfalls do you think companies will experience?

*Bio: Emily Mouyeos joined the BurrellesLuce account management team with a background in nonprofit communication and development. Her background and current experience with BurrellesLuce allows her to effectively address client needs and consolidate feedback for senior management. To Emily, nothing feels better than helping others achieve their goal, whether it’s professionally or personally.  By focusing on client management through the Fresh Ideas blog, she hopes to evaluate new client management trends, as well as provide insight to the pros and cons of current practices. She looks forward to connecting with the readers of Fresh Ideas for new perspectives and dialogue on issues that affect overall success. LinkedIn: Emily Mouyeos Twitter: @BurrellesLuce Facebook: BurrellesLuce