“Celebrate even the smallest joys and wins.”
Stephen Fell, Senior Online Engagement and Content Manager – TalkTalk
With any brand, customer satisfaction is key. When it comes to the telecommunications industry, the bar gets raised even higher – as customers expect nothing but stellar service, 24/7. And when something goes a bit askew, they aren’t afraid to go directly to the source to troubleshoot. That’s where Stephen Fell (@Fellsteruk) , TalkTalk’s fearless online engagement and content manager, comes into the picture. Listen to what he has to say about his experience at TalkTalk in the video below and then continue on to get a few valuable words of advice that every community manager should always live by.
What is the most common trait you see among your community members?
Our community is emotional – not because they are, by nature, a dramatic assortment of customers, but rather because they’ve likely come to one of our social channels as a last resort to get a problem resolved. Who would blame them? If your television service goes out or your wifi connection has dropped – and you are telephone averse, as many of us are these days – the first instinct is to vent via social, in hopes that there’s someone on the other side who can help. But the community members I love most are our Super Users and advocates – their willingness and desire to help others in the community never ceases to amaze me. What’s resulted from this interaction is a community of friends, a community of sharers, a community that’s got each other’s back. Now that’s real engagement!
Every job has its obstacles. In your role, what obstacle have you had to overcome?
I think almost everyone who works in social would agree that the biggest obstacle we all face is budget. Even in the most social-savvy companies, convincing senior stakeholders to invest in tools like peer-to-peer social service platforms always seems to be an uphill battle. But with a little persistence – and a lot of perseverance – anything is doable. In fact, it took me about two years of working with Lithium before I was given the budget to make the move. What I’ve learned is this: it’s critically important to demonstrate how an investment in community helps deliver on broader business goals as well as what ROI looks like in that scenario. Once you’ve created a solid business case, budget soon becomes an afterthought.
What would you say are your top 3 tips for managing a successful community?
I could say a lot here, but here’s what immediately comes to mind:
- Be Open and Honest: Never promise something you can’t deliver. Being open and honest with others is equally as important as being open and honest with yourself. You’ve got to set realistic expectations and strive to over-deliver whenever you possibly can. Otherwise, you’ll just set yourself up for failure.
- Celebrate Success: It’s easy to get bogged down with day-to-day tasks. We’re all overloaded with work – and that growing to-do list isn’t going to get smaller anytime soon. But one thing I know to be true is that each day is filled with successes. Some big, some small. So take the time to celebrate. It’s a nice way to break up all the fire drills you’re likely dealing with everyday.
- Love Metrics: Stay focused on business objectives and constantly strive to measure and prove the ways in which your efforts are delivering long-term value. It’s important to know what success looks like from your vantage point – and to be able to show, at a moment’s notice, how your work has led to successful results. And even if you don’t hit your goal every time, don’t worry. You learn from both the hits and the misses. Even more reason why metrics will become your best friend (if they aren’t already by now).
STEPHEN’S LITHIUM “STREET CRED”
What makes Stephen a Lithium Rockstar? Here are some pretty stand out stats from his participation in the Lithium Community over the past year.
WHO IS STEPHEN FELL?
Stephen is the Senior Online Engagement and Content Manager over at UK-based TalkTalk. He leads the social engagement team, responsible for supporting and growing the company’s active, vibrant, and vocal community. He also collaborates on the development of content across both the B2C and B2B sides of TalkTalk’s business. He is a Lithium Certified Community Manager, an Honored Contributor in our community and a Rockstar in the Lithium Stars program. He could talk forever about anything Nissan, Nikon, Apple, and Lithium. Stephen’s journey into community management was recently featured via Community Manager Appreciation Day.
ABOUT TALKTALK
TalkTalk Telecom Group provides pay television, telecommunications, internet access, and mobile network services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom. TalkTalk has been a Lithium customer since 2013.
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