AT&T

Conversation Overload:
9 Steps to Handle the Chatter Without
Major Splatter

Prepared for the Social Media for Customer
Service Summit 2011 #CMSCS
@beckyww

AT&T Proprietary (Restricted) - SR3 (Mark Keiffer FMO Discussion Participants) Only.
Only for use by authorized individuals and above-designated team(s) within the AT&T companies and not for general
distribution.

Conversation Overload:
9 Steps to Handle the Chatter Without
Major Splatter

Becky Woodworth, AT&T Social Media Team
rw0048@att.com
www.facebook.com/becky.woodworth
http://thisreminds.me

@beckyww
Mom to 4, AT&T Lifer,
Lots of Opinions & All of Them My Own

2 AT&T Proprietary (Restricted) - SR3 (Mark Keiffer FMO Discussion Participants) Only.
distribution.

Step #1 – Decide: Where, oh, Where Will You
Be? Where everyone else is…..

Disapora

Take a step back and ask yourself, “What are my customers
ready for?” and then, “What are my objectives?” Once you
know that, then you can start planning. Groundswell by Li &
Bernoff

distribution.

Step #2 ….or in a place you create?

Don’t be a leaf…..Be a tree! Charles Schultz

distribution.

Step #3 – Match Topics of Expected
Conversation with Corporate Owners

Post-Sale Care?
Sales and/or Couponing?
Policies?
Suggestions?
What to Ignore?
Decide – then - be prepared to talk about something
else!

Marketers tell us they define and manage their brand…
Bull…Your brand is whatever your customers say it is.
Groundswell, by Li & Bernoff

distribution.

Step #4 – Standardize Your Processes

Document the same way every time. Be creative in
thinking, but uniform in documenting.
Enter free-form information no more often than is
absolutely required.
All conversations recorded in one place, accessible by all
and frequently/randomly quality-checked.
Make all information searchable and sortable.

Left, right, left right, you had a good home and you left,
you’re right! Army Cadence

distribution.

Step #5 – Encourage Your Community
Members to Engage with Each Other

Private Acknowledgment
Public Acknowledgment
Ranks
Badging
Privileges
Rewards

A community is a like a marriage; it requires constant
adjustment to grow and become more rewarding. And if
you’re not in it for the long haul, well, maybe you should
think about the ugly endings you’ve seen to marriages that
lacked the long-term effort. Groundswell, by Li & Bernoff

distribution.

Step #6 – Staff with Professionals Who
“Get It”

Facebook has more than 800M active users. Source:
Facebook.com

Twitter has more than 56M accounts following eight or
more accounts. Source: SocialMediaToday.com
FourSquare has more than 7.5M registered users. Source:
SocialMediaToday.com
YouTube has “hundreds of millions” of users. Source:
YouTube.com

Surely many users work for your company!

Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.
Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz

distribution.

Step #7 – Listen Inside & Outside Your
Corporate Walls

Build and maintain strong working relationships inside
your company. Be alert to conditions that may trigger a
surge – new product announcement, product recall,
leadership changes, scandal, earnings report, etc.
Build and maintain strong working relations outside your
company. Be alert to information being reported, and/or
suggestions/criticisms from external peers. Consider
using a professional listening tool.
Act on that information – staff appropriately –
communicate honestly.

Danger, Will Robinson! Danger! Robot in Lost in Space

distribution.

Step #8 – Measure Twice, Cut Once

From Day #1 – Measure everything meaningful often and
accurately. You’ll need those numbers to explain staffing
needs, justify capital costs, predict surges, etc.
Mechanize data gathering as much as possible so you can
concentrate on meaningful interpretation.
Beware of puffy and pointless stats, like “page views”
inflated by spider crawls, and “fans” or “registered users”
who never interact.
Include a definition of terms in every communication.

First get your facts, then you can distort them at your leisure.
Mark Twain

distribution.

Step #9 – “Do the Math” to Predict Surges
and Staffing Needs

“What Happened Before” x
% Change in Users x
Seasonality Factor x
Degree of Public Sentiment or Product Usage or ? /
Gained Efficiencies =
Effect of a Surge on Staffing Needs +
“One to Grow On”

Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.
Margo Channing

distribution.

?

distribution.

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