Over recent weeks I’ve had 2 very different customer service experiences. Admittedly pitting the boutique online printers Moo against electronics behemoth Sony isn’t really a fair match. But online, every brand should be ticking these essential boxes in the same way, or risk rapid damage to their reputation – whatever their size.

Moo: Good

We use Moo for our business cards, and the latest batch came back with a slight cutting error. Finding out how to contact customer service was stupidly easy. Every step of the transaction had already been reported by automatic email. The box contained re-order codes, a helpful returns sticky label and the website is clear from clutter, making navigation a breeze.

I sent an email, got a response and the reprints we on my desk at no cost – financial or emotional – to me, the customer. (Makes you want to write a positive blog post by way of a thank you, really).

Sony: Not Very Good

Meanwhile, the door on my Sony camcorder suddenly wouldn’t close, with or without a Mini DV cassette in it. Seeking assistance for this was the polar opposite experience. Googling the error code produced reams of forum posts slagging off Sony, this apparently common fault and their inability to communicate with customers on it other than charging them a lot of money to fix it.

Trying to find Sony’s own customer services for any official info was painful. Searches under a number of different terms pulled up variously unhelpful results: North American only help centres, drop down ‘help’ menus that didn’t list my particular camera model, vast FAQ pages.

Digital Content Strategy

A proper digital content strategy would see Sony not only simplifying and promoting the path to reach them direct, but also managing and reacting to the user comments about their products on other sites. It’s ridiculous that no representative from the company has contributed to those forums. Their reputation is being raked through the mud on there unchecked. The commercial missed opportunity is there for all to see.

Ok, so Moo may have a little too much Innocent Smoothiesque folksiness about them for some tastes, but all that chumminess is just a presentation style that works well for their type of business. The same principle of effective and rapid customer service can be handled in a totally corporate way with equally good results.

Help Them ‘Get It’

It all goes to show the huge culture shift that is going to have to take place very rapidly at ‘old’ companies as the general public increasingly seek answers to their issues online. It’s unfortunate but unsurprising that the brands that really ‘get it’ are those built for the new digital space.

At least helping all the others catch up presents a wealth of opportunity for a new breed of media companies. As ever, seeing it unfold around us is a very interesting process. Even though I still haven’t worked out how to get my camcorder to close.