I often get some ribbing about my efforts with Social Media and many times find myself defending my beliefs in the value of the time invested. I realize this business that I love so much is still pretty top heavy with dinosaurs so I mostly let it all roll off my back, although at times I think if I can ‘get it’ as a 40 something year old car guy with over 25 years at this why can’t my fellow managers have at least a LITTLE open mindedness to Social?  Recently I had an experience that fully validated my efforts, at least for me, that I wanted to share.
With so many avenues to this Social Media engagement it’s sometimes tough to be active on all fronts, especially when trying to man all of them alone! By chance I happened to catch a tweet from a really good customer last week that caught my attention and using Twitter I was able to extend an invitation to him to bring his S2000 to our Service Department. Here is part of our Tweet conversation:

Riki Yamada ‏ @RikiYamada
#goodcall! I was thinking about visiting @dchgardenahonda soon any way! Thanx!

I spotted the reference to my dealership and Tweeted Riki back…

Mike theHondaGuy ‏ @no1HondaGuy
My team of S2 luving specialists is standing by for you @RikiYamada ! Just let me know when to pencil ya in! #S2000RepairSpecialists :)

Riki Yamada ‏ @RikiYamada
@no1HondaGuy I'm getting off @starbucks @10am tomorrow & I'm going straight to Gardena.

Riki Yamada ‏ @RikiYamada
Hey Man #werdup! I'm off @starbucks @10am & then going to see @no1HondaGuy @dchgardenahond in Gardena for some #service! :D

Mike theHondaGuy ‏ @no1HondaGuy
On the road to @DCHGardenaHonda to ready the red carpet for my man @RikiYamada an his awesome S2! #HondaServicePros :)

Mike theHondaGuy ‏ @no1HondaGuy
@RikiYamada when u get to @DCHGardenaHonda, plz ask for my man Miguel Ortiz. He's my go to guy in our Service Dept, he's a huge S2 fan also!

Riki Yamada ‏ @RikiYamada
@no1HondaGuy @dchgardenahonda Mr Mike... YOU ROCK!!! Thank you!

Riki Yamada ‏ @RikiYamada
@no1HondaGuy en route sir! I should be there 30ins!

Mike theHondaGuy ‏ @no1HondaGuy
@RikiYamada Excellent! Miguel is ready for ya, I told him to watch for a really BITCHEN S2! See ya soon :)

Riki Yamada ‏ @RikiYamada
Wow! @no1HondaGuy,thank you so much 4 setting me up w/ Svc for my Honda w/ Miguel Ortiz-OVER TWITTER! @dchgardenahonda RULES! Gr8 2 see you!

Riki Yamada ‏ @RikiYamada
I'm @dchgardenahonda. My #checkengine light came on yesterday. Crossing my fingers that it will be bearable news O;0 It's running well... :D

Riki Yamada ‏ @RikiYamada
@no1HondaGuy #thepoweroftwitter nvr fails 2 astound me! I've learned thru @starbucks-recycling process!Treat'em well & they will show grace!

Riki Yamada ‏ @RikiYamada
@no1HondaGuy thk goodness! #checkenginelight was a result of a loosened gascap.Gonna play by ear.If it comes on again, I'll replace the cap!

Mike theHondaGuy ‏ @no1HondaGuy
@RikiYamada awesome, so glad the S2 wasn't needin anything major! She's 2 sweet 2 sit in a service bay, get her out on the road! :)

Riki Yamada ‏ @RikiYamada
@no1HondaGuy will do, sir! Thanx for taking time out of your busy schedule to set me up w/ @DCHGardenaHonda svc AND personally greeting me!

Riki Yamada ‏ @RikiYamada
@no1HondaGuy 'til the nxt time! U & @DCHGardenaHonda's GREAT svc makes me wanna provide great svc & smiles to others.See? #recycling process

When I showed our Service Director the Tweets Riki and I had going back and forth he was very excited about seeing his Service Department being talked about so favorably and to an audience of over 2,000 followers! All without paying an ad agency or buying advertising, just from providing some good old fashioned personal service! While I don’t claim to be any kind of expert at this Social stuff, I am learning and find myself looking forward to the exciting future of Social Media and how it allows a more immediate engagement with our customers. As an extra bonus, Riki brought my 6 boxes of Starbucks Via! That totally wasn’t the point of the whole effort but it did make up for my GM asking “how many cars did all your Tweets sell me?”! :)