I have been talking with a number of enterprise 2.0 vendors in connection with the AppGap blog. I now usually ask them how they are using Twitter. Here are three examples: Central Desktop, Techrigy, and Filtrbox.

I have written about Central Desktop several times (e.g., Central Desktop Moves Up with Enterprise Edition and How Barack Obama is Using Web and Enterprise 2.0 in the US Primary Campaign Through Central Desktop). They provide a comprehensive SaaS based social technology platform used by business teams to interact, share and manage their daily work activities. I recently spoke with Isaac Garcia, their co-founder and CEO, about how they are using Twitter.  Isaac said that they first started experimenting with Twitter more as an interesting toy. They established a company account and Isaac and few others also started their own accounts. This was last March. They would point to selected blog posts, company news, as well as comment on more issues within their market niche. If they saw conversations about Central Desktop or relevant social media issues, they would join the conversation. This latter move was when it began to get exciting.

Isaac said they were able to respond to questions about Central Desktop, as well as both positive and negative issues. In the later case, they could often correct wrong impressions such as a Tweet hoping for the addition of a feature that they actually provided. People would often be amazed after simply Twitting to the general world about an issue connected to Central Desktop, that the CEO himself would provide a personal response, answering their question. It has become a great listening device for them and a way to engage in conversations with client and prospects. 

Then it went beyond customer connection and service to become a sales channel. Prospects have been contacting them to learn about features. In one case, a marketing firm contacted them through Twitter and they began a Twitter exchange addressing their questions and concerns. The firm was considering whether to expand their current on-premise solution or move to a SaaS offering. This conversation went back and forth between public replies and some private direct messages. Finally, the firm called Central Desktop and signed up. Soon the story spread throughout Central Desktop about a 27 Tweet and one phone call sales close. People were amazed that they had closed a sale on Twitter and more people became engaged with the channel. Many other sales have now involved Twitter in the process.

I asked Isaac for his advice to others who want to use Twitter to better engage with customers and prospects. He said to not be too aggressive on the promotional side. It can compromise the authenticity that people expect with Twitter. He feels that because of the chatty nature of Twitter, authenticity is even more important than with blogs. Just engage in conversations. Look for people talking about your product and provide answers. Do not avoid negative discussions as you can often turn these around with honest answers.  People have been amazed that they get instant responses at the moment of frustration. Central Desktop is now asking questions on Twitter such as has anyone in a (certain industry) used Central Desktop for (a certain purpose and they are getting responses. It is a great tool to listen to what customers want. Prompt them with questions rather that start with your answers and then answer their questions.

 Impressed with Twitter?s capabilities, Central Desktop is now evaluating approaches to implementing micro-messaging capabilities into their platform for secure use by teams within an enterprise.

 Techrigy is a social media monitoring tool that offers excellent reporting. I spoke with Aaron Newman, CEO of Techrigy, for an AppGap post (see Techrigy Provides Comprehensive Social Media Monitoring) and also asked him about their use of Twitter. He pointed to a recent post on their blog, Twitter lead generation workflow with SM2 Alerts, which discussed how Techrigy, itself, uses use Twitter in conjunction with SM2?s Alerts function to generate interest, book demos and communicate with people in the social media marketing community. They are able to set up the SM2 search filters to only look at people who are likely to be interested and then get real time alerts. Techrigy finds that they are now booking many sales meetings daily via Twitter. This targeted marketing makes use of the transparency of the Web and is a good proof of concept for Techrigy. I am now using the free version of Techrigy and I can also see when the topics that I am interested in come up on Twitter, among other channels.

 Filtrbox is another web monitoring tool that I have started to use. I spoke with Ari Newman, CEO at Filtrbox for an AppGap post (see – Filtrbox Provides Market Intelligence for the Rest of Us). I also asked Ari how he is using Twitter. He said they are using it in three ways and they use Fltrbox to better filter the tweets for their areas of interest. First, they look for conversations around issues that they can address. Then they send out @ messages to those who seem like they would be receptive to engaging in conversations about these issues. If tweets are directed at Filtrbox, they use the company Twitter account to respond. If it is indirect, Ari will use his own Twitter account to engage.  Second, they use Twitter for customer support. People can send public @ or private DMs to the company Twitter feed to ask for help.  Third, they use it to communicate what is happening at Filtrbox, announcing new features, blog posts, tips, and other information that might be useful to their followers. I like the way they use icons in their reports for the three sources types: mainstream news outlets, blogs, or social networks (mainly Twitter). 

I am starting to hear similar stories from other companies. What is your Twitter story?