Value creation using social media in a virtual business model: how Amazon approaches customer service on twitter

Abstract

With the growing popularity of social media sites, consumer-focused businesses across industry sectors have started conducting both promotional activities and customer service related interactions via the same platforms. Companies can no longer hope to keep expressions of customer dissatisfaction hidden from the public eye. This preliminary qualitative study examines the exchanges between Amazon and their customers on the micro blogging platform Twitter from over a period of 18 days. 2385 conversations involving 6518 tweets were analyzed and coded to achieve an understanding of how an online shopping site is approaching promotions and customer service issues. The study provides insight on how Amazon uses Twitter to interact with customers in relation to their enquiries, suggestions, and negative and positive feedback.