20 Examples of Business Success with Twitter

Many business executives/owners/operators and marketers are unsure about how to use Twitter effectively for their business. They understand it requires more than just posting frivolous updates in response to the Twitter “What are you doing?” question.

Rather than go through an academic discussion of the various aspects to consider for using Twitter to connect with customers and promote your business, I thought that this list of 20 real-world examples would provide ideas and inspiration for using Twitter in your business:

1. Several computer vendors and retailers offer exclusive discounts to their Twitter followers and bring in substantial revenue from this additional source.
2. A coffee shop in Houston uses Twitter for customers to place to-go orders so that their order is ready and waiting for them at the drive-thru window when they arrive.
3. At that same coffee shop, customers can Tweet their orders directly from their table without going to the counter to order.
4. Various hotel chains send special offers to their Twitter followers to fill vacant rooms.
5. Several airlines provide informational updates, customer service, competitions, promotions and general dialog with customers.
6. A bakery in London uses Twitter to notify followers when baked goods are fresh out of the oven.
7. Event organizers use Twitter to notify attendees about logistics, updates, schedule changes and other information about an event.
8. The staff at a New Orleans Pizza restaurant sends information about the healthy and fresh ingredients in their organic pizzas and details about special deals.
9. A hotel chain provides concierge services via Twitter to answer guest questions about getting around the local area for a particular hotel.
10. Street vendors in several cities notify their followers where they’re parked at different times and what specials they have that day.
11. Home improvement stores provide tips, suggestions and how-to advice to their followers.
12. A Research firm notifies their followers when new research, articles or discussions are published.
13. A food supermarket chain gets input from customers on what they like as research to determine what to stock in each store to meet local tastes and preferences.
14. An online retailer has developed a huge following on Twitter by encouraging employees to communicate with customers about a wide variety of topics of mutual interest.
15. A tax preparation service provides question-and-answer services to their customers via Twitter.
16. A cable operator provides real-time customer service and problem resolution on Twitter.
17. A fast food chain uses Twitter for customer comments and feedback. They also send coupons to followers.
18. A car manufacturer provides updates on their green vehicles and sustainability initiatives across the business.
19. Several news organizations provide news headlines and breaking news to followers.
20. An online retailer specializing in selling clearance products has over 1.3 million followers by posting daily sale items on Twitter.

Disclaimer: I’ve collected the above examples and stories from various blog and Internet sources. While they are mentioned in multiple sources and appear to be genuine, I cannot vouch for the accuracy or authenticity of the above examples. I also elected to omit company names to keep focus on the ideas rather than a particular company.

How to use this information to benefit your business

• Avoid the pointless debate about whether Twitter is a fad, appropriate for business, has a sustainable business model, etc. It’s working for many businesses – determine whether and how to make it work for your business.
• Ensure that you have the committed resources to maintain and sustain your Twitter activity once you get going.
• There is no cost to use Twitter – all it takes is time to participate.
• Twitter is another marketing channel for your business, but it’s mode of operation is different from other marketing channels.
• Take the time to learn, research and determine how to best use Twitter for your business rather than just diving in to see whether something happens.
• Regardless of whether your company actively uses Twitter, consider using tools such as Twitter Search, TweetDeck and Twendz to monitor and track any discussions about your company/brands/products/services/solutions.

To learn more about using Twitter for your business, check out the free Twitter 101 Business Guide which also has more detailed case studies of businesses successfully using Twitter.
Copyright © 2009 Ingistics LLC and Marketance™ www.marketance.com

Tagged as: social media, Social Media Marketing, Twitter