In 2012 if a company creates a social channel as a marketing vehicle it is inevitable that customers will use it as a mechanism for customer service and sales.

It’s no secret that the fastest way to resolve a customer service issue is to complain noisily via Twitter. If you haven’t seen this consumer behaviour before check out the Twitter profiles and conversations of any of the mobile phone, telephone or broadband service providers.

The simple fact is that for consumers complaining via Twitter is a lot simpler than visiting a retail store or dealing with an offshore call centre. The willingness for consumers to embrace social media is one of the reasons that many sectors such as retail banking have been slow to embrace social media. They simply wouldn’t be able to cope with the demand from customers seeking to engage directly.

For brands it’s an issue of customer service as well as reputation. Organisations are having to quickly integrate their social channels with other operational parts of the business giving rise to the social business.

But consumers also need to temper their expectations. Re-engineering businesses so that they put social communication at their core will take time.

This comment was originally written for an article for New Media Knowledge about consumer expectations of brands that interact on social media. It follows the publication of a study on Social Brand Experience by the CMO Council (PDF download) last week. Please click here to read the full article by Chris Lee.