I’m a big fan of the email marketing platform, Mailchimp…and an even bigger fan of their quirky monkey mascot, Freddie. Having been a customer for several years, we’ve received their promotional items from time to time. My personal favorite? A Freddie sticker where he’s dressed as a ninja. I promptly stuck one to my computer the day it came in the mail. Completely silly, I know, but it makes sitting at my laptop for hours on end a little more fun.

And when that sticker started to peel off last week, I got a little sad. I wanted another, but didn’t think such a huge company would care/have the time/etc.
I figured I didn’t have much to lose. So I took a Twitter risk.

In less than 24 hours, Mailchimp replied to my tweet. And in 2 days, I had a small package at my desk.
I tweeted the interaction, commending them for “knowing a thing or two about #customerloyalty.” I put a picture of what they sent on Instagram. I couldn’t contain my excitement around my coworkers, and even shared a few stickers with them.
I realize that you might not have ever heard of Mailchimp until now. Twitter might be a foreign social platform to you. You might not care for either, but you should about this lesson.
A company with over 87,000 Twitter followers took the time to respond to one customer’s request. They didn’t ask for a customer number.  They didn’t tell me I could buy their stickers. They didn’t ignore me all together. To top it off, they went above and beyond when they delivered.
Oh, and they were actively engaged on the platform where their customer was talking about them.
Here’s a little industry research that I did just for you:
–       In the last 24 hours, tweets about “car repair” occurred 127 times
–       In the last 24 hours, 66 tweets were specific to automatic transmissions.
–       Twitter has 2,613 users with automotive repair, automotive aftermarket, powertrain, transmission, car mechanic, and vehicle repair included in their profile information
Think your business has no time for Twitter? What about time for building customer loyalty? It can be the smallest of things that can cement a customer for life, but you’ll never know if you’re not there.

In today’s ever-social world, your customers are giving you numerous opportunities to interact with them. Has Twitter or Facebook lead to a new customer for your shop? Have you been wow-ed yourself with a business’ response to a comment or complaint you’ve put online? Share with Jennifer in the comments below or email her!