Carriers combine social networking with customer service

“Self-service only makes sense from a business point of view if it delivers to a customer what they want,” Petouhoff said. “If they can get done what they need to do, they would use it. Without meaning to, companies have trained customers to not use a lot of self-service features. The technology works, but it hasn’t been in the right content and format to change the user’s behavior. Now companies like Lithium really understand what drives the community and what they need.”

VERIZON EXPANDS EVOLUTION-DESIGN STORES

To aid its customer experience push on the brick-and-mortar side, Verizon also recently announced that it will open 560 additional Evolution-Design Stores in 2009 focused on high-tech, hands-on experiences with the carrier’s wireless voice, data, music and video services. Existing stores will also be converted to this model bringing the total to 830 Evolution-Design stores. In addition, 28 free-standing kiosks across the country will give consumers access to live phones for trialing.

Verizon’s Evolution-Design Stores, similar to AT&T’s brick-and-mortar and online Experience Stores, are set up to streamline the sales process. The new stores are laid out to encourage more self-exploration through a better floor plan with the devices arranged in a demo zone in the store’s center. All 70 devices on display are activated so that consumers can try out any of the handset’s functions. Spokesman Tom Pica said that the stores will also include the recently launched landline Hub and FiOS TV demonstrations were applicable.

Next: Lithium weighs on carriers’ community forums.