-
Panel Discussion: Using Twitter as a Customer Engagement Platform
Jenn Godbout (The Drake Hotel), Brad Ross (Toronto Transit Commission), Shabnam Weber (The Tea Emporium), & Mary Pretotto (Rogers)
December 7th 2009, 6:30pm
The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen Street West, Toronto (map)
Admission: $10
Agenda
- 6:30-7:30 Mix & Mingle
- 7:30-8:30 Panel Discussion: “Using Twitter as a Customer Engagement Platform”
- 8:30-9:00 QA
- 9:00 Post Event Networking
Panel Discussion: “Using Twitter as a Customer Engagement Platform”
Twitter is quickly becoming the de facto tool of choice for brands and companies to promote their products to a global audience. In keeping with the “engage, not broadcast” rule of thumb in social media, some organizations are also using Twitter to help customers solve tricky technical issues, resolve customer service complaints, or just find out why their flight has been delayed. If executed successfully, Twitter is a valuable tool that, when used in tandem with a larger social media strategy, can help companies engage with their customer, build new relationships and create an army of brand advocates.
However, in a recent study by Weber Shandwick, only 9% of Fortune 100 companies examined used their Twitter account for customer service. The panelists (Jenn Godbout from The Drake Hotel, Brad Ross from the TTC, Shabnam Weber from The Tea Emporium, and Mary Pretotto from Rogers), moderated by Martin Rubio, will talk about their experiences with Twitter as a customer service platform, what they’ve found works, what doesn’t and shed some light on why Twitter is becoming a popular platform for customer engagement.
Moderator
About Martin Rubio
Martin is an innovator and a creative force, with extensive experience in ideation and creative thinking methodologies, new product ideation, development, and strategic planning. He has worked with leading companies, designing revolutionary business strategies, repositioning brands and prioritizing innovation. Martin is currently the VP of Marketing and Promotions at VROOMmedia, a marketing and media agency, which provides brands with consumer insight consultancy, a development firm that transcends traditional methodologies. It provides a customized approach and solutions to clients’ unique problems – creating brand evangelists. He has served since 2007 and is the current Director, Marketing of the International Special Events Society (ISES) Toronto Chapter. He has judged at the 2008 and 2009 DECA National High School and University Marketing Competitions.Panelists
About Jenn Godbout
With a background in publicity, Jenn Godbout has found a happy home as the Marketing Manager for the Drake Hotel. Located on West Queen West, the Drake offers a unique blend of culture, community and hospitality. In the last year, Jenn has worked with the Culture and Communications team at Drake to further develop social media and web initiatives. The Drake sees Twitter as a very important means for communicating with the world, encouraging people to dialogue about the brand and listening attentively to the feedback. We see social media as another medium to inform and entertain; but at the end of the day, our followers and fans are our best ambassadors. The Drake Hotel can be found on Twitter at @TheDrakeHotel.About Brad Ross
Brad Ross joined the TTC as director of corporate communications on March 31, 2008. Three weeks later, the TTC’s three unions rejected a tentative contract offer and went on strike at midnight. Provincial legislation ordered workers back to work some 36 hours later. While this was classic trial-by-fire for a new employee in a newly-created role, Ross’s experience at the City of Toronto as the manager of media relations and issues management prepared him well for this crisis, and the many that have since followed. Engaging with TTC customers and others in real-time via Twitter has been a revelation of sorts – not with managing day-to-day operations, but simply listening to and talking with those who rely on public transit everyday.About Shabnam Weber
Shabnam Weber is the co-owner of The Tea Emporium – established in 2000. The Tea Emporium currently has five locations in Toronto and is the supplier to some of the best restaurants, spas and hotels in the city. Featuring Canada’s first School of Tea, The Tea Emporium has been an industry leader in tea education and a key player in developing the first Tea Sommelier program being taught at George Brown College. Placing emphasis on sourcing quality products, pairing it with an elegant package and putting customer service at the top of the priorities, The Tea Emporium sets the standards. You can find them on Twitter at @teaemporium.About Mary Pretotto
Mary Pretotto is a Community Manager on the Social Media team at Rogers Communications Inc. She joined the team in October and is responsible for monitoring discussions about Rogers online and engaging with customers in discussion forums, blogs and Twitter. Mary is a graduate of the Master of Journalism program at Carleton University and also holds an Honours degree in English and Creative Writing from York University. Her Master’s thesis, “Surfing the Wave of Flux: A Journey into How Conventional Media are Adapting to Meet the Demands of the New Online Medium” has been cited in various reports regarding the effect technological convergence has had on media.
← Back to events
