What a difference two years makes in social media.
In 2006, Dell was scorned by bloggers who accused it of shoddy support and products. I was among them.
Dell today is praised by many of the same people as one of the companies that most “gets it.” The company’s social media activities are a key component to a turnaround-in-progress.
Dell uses a whole lot of social media tools in some innovative ways. It is the first, and perhaps only public company to have an investor relations blog. It uses Twitter as a clearinghouse for closeout products. It has a site for customers who have good ideas the company can transform into products.
Dell is certainly more trusted today than it was two years ago, and has the stats to prove it. But it has not overtaken H-P as the #1 computer company. And last quarters results disappointed Wall Street.
So why does Dell do it? I asked Richard Binhammer, the Dell Communications officer most involved in social media, whether social media was increasing sales and market share.
Binhammer, known best in social media circles as RichardatDell replied flatly: “That not what we use it for. We use it to listen to customers and respond to what they want from us.”
He said a great deal more in this far-ranging interview.
