The Gartner Research Group just released a report for 2010 regarding customer service and social media. The main thrust of the report is that in 2010 organizations will need to start actively using social media services to improve their customer service and retain a strong customer base. The shift will be away from enabling staff to service clients to enabling clients to serve themselves with real-time support through the company's website and social media services such as Facebook and Twitter.

The report findings suggest Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and social networking will become intertwined with many benefits to organizations and their clients. While many organizations may view social media as something for young people, there is a clear and growing expectation from customers of all ages that they should be able to receive a high level of customer service online.

Whether you use social media or not this report is worth the read and may help you make some decisions about the future of your organization's customer service offering.

Joe Perraton
jperraton@pointonemedia.com

The Gartner Report on Social Media and Customer Service