Telephone and mail are still THE tools with regards to customer service. Here is an interesting approach from Best Buy, one of the largest US electronic discounters, which has been breaking new ground in online customer service since last summer. The (somewhat awkward) name of the project is Twelpforce – a combination of Tw(itter) and (H)elp. All the company’s employees can answer customer questions via one Twitter account, offering tips and assistance for technical problems. Currently, 2,100 employees are participating. To do this, they each register private Twitter accounts with ConnectTweet on a company page. All answers are then displayed under Twelpforce, allowing the company to track which employees are participating and how.

The new service channel is attractive for several reasons. The company uses the collective intelligence of its employees and reduces service costs. It opens a dialogue with its customers, and offers PR benefits. And it gives Best Buy experience in the early stages of a new field.

Best Buy is a pioneer in social media. Its Facebook page, for example, currently has more than 1.1 million fans [in comparison to Germany: The recently launched Facebook application by Saturn, “Geh fremd mit der geilsten Technik” or “Be unfaithful with the coolest technology”, has only 2,600, Conrad Electronics 1,000 and MediaMarkt 3,100 fans]. In the first four months, approximately 14,000 questions were answered and almost 25,000 people were following the service account. According to Business Week: “This is a sign of things to come over the next year as more companies look to uncover cost savings or serve customers more effectively through leveraging social technology.”

Here is one of the TV spots that Best Buy uses to advertise this initiative.

And here is an interview with Best Buy’s social media manager, John Bernier, who explains the social media strategy. More information is also available at other sources such as Tim Krischak.