There is a lot of news all over the web about the Customer Service world and its connection to Twitter. Companies are being exhorted to search Twitter to understand what the “real time web” is saying about their brand. Salesforce has their Service Cloud product, which draws Tweets about a brand into their Customer Service app where Reps can then respond back to Twitter. Of course, there will be the cynical view that it's because companies are trying to ride the wave of Twitter's "cool" factor, but let's put that aside for the moment because, the bigger question is "Why Twitter?"

Let’s put ourselves in our Customer’s shoes and once there, ask what might motivate Customers to talk about you elsewhere. I have four reasons why your Customers might choose to go to Twitter (or some other third party web property) for Customer Service. If your organization cares about Customer Service and Customer Satisfaction, I would think this list has your full attention.

1. Your traditional support mechanism failed or was too painful to use.

This is tough to contemplate, but remember, there is almost always some customer out there that your Customer Service may have failed. They’re looking for help elsewhere. It’s not that uncommon. Admit it, you’ve done it yourself: fired up Google and gone in search of answers to your problems.

Pretend you’re the customer: Maybe you suspected the Customer Service Rep would not have the answer because so many don’t. You didn’t want to fight the escalation process, and you’re sure you can’t be the first one to have this problem.

Now, switch roles again: What are you and your company doing to combat this? Are you all about deflection and getting people off the phones, or are you all about finding them good answers quickly no matter what it takes? Are your metrics aligned with the former or the latter? It doesn’t actually have to be expensive to deliver those good answers, BTW. In the long run, it’s like what the Japanese discovered about quality in the auto business: it actually winds up being cheaper. You just have to know how and want to succeed.

2. The people Tweeting aren't actually your customers, or are not committed to your brand.

This is a very common reason for folks to participate in third party web sites. Indeed, many companies make it impossible to participate unless you are a registered customer. Think about the wisdom of that. Maybe you’d do well to arrange some ways for those who are not registered customers to be involved too. Heck, it might be an effective sales and marketing tool.

And what about folks who want to participate, but who may never be customers? You may think they’re just trolls and naysayers, but what about the community of influencers whose job it is to evaluate and talk about things they personally never buy? The more expensive your product is, the more likely such an audience exists.

Would you tell an analyst that wanted to cover your company to go ask about it on Twitter and write whatever they want? Why treat other influencers that way?

This is the web. Anyone with a blog is an analyst. Most won’t ever contact your PR or marketing departments.

And what about those who have given up? What’s your plan to make them happy and restore their hope? They’re asking for your help, over there, on Twitter.

3. The customer prefers Twitter because it’s hip, fun, easy, and natural.

Hey, let’s face it, a lot of what’s going on with Twitter and similar services is about hipness and experimentation. Someone wants to Tweet about something, your company or your products are on their mind, so you got picked. Welcome to the party! It’s a good thing. Figure out how to embrace it and use it to your benefit.

Recently, I heard another example. Someone got bad service from an airline at the airport. The easiest way for them to deal with it was to Tweet because the company had no good mobile app for Customer Service. Doesn’t it make sense that some businesses might be more prone to needing mobile apps and that third parties like Twitter provide an outlet for that until you get your own mobile app?

And what about that darned trouble ticketing system. How many more boxes do I have to fill out on the form before I can actually talk about what I want to talk about? Is this making it easier for me or your Service Agents? Why wouldn’t I go to a Community application where I can just quickly enter my question and get an answer? Unless of course you don’t offer a community.

4. Your traditional Customer Support mechanism is too private, too focused on solitary self-service, or too one-sided.

Which brings me to another aspect of what happens if you don’t have a Community. Not only does it make you seem less hip, less fun, more difficult to use, and less natural when you force everyone through the Trouble Ticketing process, but you also create a lot of other problems.

Many times, a Customer intentionally wants to involve other people. Maybe they just want a more levelconversation among peers. Maybe they think others can help resolve the problem faster or better. Maybe they're beyond resolution and just want to hurt the brand or warn others off. You get the idea.

Uber Blogger Robert Scoble recently presented an awesome way of thinking about community. He singles out BestBuy for having done a terrible job with their corporate web site. Here is how Scoble puts it:

Where do I get off telling one of the world’s most successful retailers that their web site sucks?

Easy: when you walk into a real Best Buy store, what do you see? I see lots of people with blue shirts on. Employees! People! Folks who can help me pick out a new big screen or camcorder or computer. What else do you see? Customers! Oh, yes, people again.

But when I go to BestBuy.com, what do I see?

No people.

Web 2.0 hasn’t reached BestBuy’s headquarters yet.

Doesn’t that tell you what’s really wrong with the picture? Does your corporate persona embrace personal service, only to have customers go to your web site and find that there are no people there?

This is a problem that gets worse as the demographics of your customer shift to the younger side. The up-and-coming generation has an expectation that the web involves conversations and collaboration, not “self-service”. They don’t want a vending machine of canned answers to questions they don’t have, they want Apple’s Genius Bar, and they want it delivered online so they never have to move a muscle to get great help. And if you don’t offer it, they’ll find a place that will.

The Internet is Your Canary in the Coal Mine

Go out and search the broad Internet and see what people are saying about your company and products. Ask yourself how you can get them to say it to you more directly. Just caring enough to try is a big step in the right direction. Assume the problems are on your side, and that if you can improve the Customer Service Experience, they will come, and it’ll be good they did.

Many companies fear what customers will say about them in an open community forum. The stock answer is that if you don’t give them a place to talk, it’s easy enough for them to go somewhere else. Wouldn’t you rather have them do it in a place where you’re better equipped to help them so that you’re associated with the solution, not just the problem?

One More Thing to Think About: If You Don’t Find Them, Someone Else Will

Suppose that after you’ve invested your best efforts, provided a thriving community, and gone way over and above the call of duty, some still go elsewhere.

“How can that happen?” you ask. First, almost nobody covers all the bases perfectly well, but I would hope you can at least get customers to try what you’re offering first. Don’t sweat customers going elsewhere if they’re coming to you for starters. That’s okay. The web is open. It encourages conversation in the strangest places that customers can be drawn to for all sorts of reasons out of your control.

But did you know that third parties may be actively courting your customers to come visit their web property?

Consider the case of GetSatisfaction. This company is intentionally trying to create a neutral “Switzerland” sort of consortium of Customer Communities. In general, I think that’s a good thing. It may get customers to say some valuable things they don’t say on your own forums and community. It gives companies that don’t have an online community a way to let customers get started sooner. I know founder Thor Muller and new CEO Wendy Lea, and I’m impressed that their intentions are good.

However, one company had a real problem with what GetSatisfaction has been doing. That company is 37Signals, one of the 800lb gorillas of the blogosphere, and they wrote all about it in a blog post recently.

37Signals is a company most would agree had done all the right things to try to help customers. They’re widely admired, and that’s one reason their blog post had so much reach and garnered so many comments. In this case, 37Signals felt that the things GetSatisfaction was doing to attract the attention of their customers were out of line and unfair.

I’ll let you read the post and decide for yourself what you think about this case, but remember, I believe they are well-intentioned people. They responded quickly to the needs of 37Signals and have made a number of immediate changes.

The challenges of Customer Community are already great enough, but now, more than ever, companies need to be aware that there are all sorts of places for your customers to discuss your name and brand – some they find on their own, and some that find them.

If your customers are using Twitter or any other place to talk about your company, it might be because you haven't sufficiently welcomed them with your own community. I dare you to find out how many people are talking about your company on Twitter. My guess is you’ll see that you need to fire up a Community Customer Service initiative all your own.