Social media is an excellent medium for companies to communicate with their customers and for customers to have a direct conversation with brands. Despite this advice, the majority of companies tend to utilize social media as a one way channel to sell to consumers. An example of a brand that is successful in engaging with users online and having a two way conversation with their customers is Qdoba Mexican Grilll. I recently interacted with this brand on social media and they successfully followed these four social media rules of engagement:
1. Listen and respond: Qdoba not only heard my question and issue but responded immediately to my concern. Despite not having an answer immediately, Qdoba responded that they would find and answer and respond shortly.
2. Acknowledge your mistakes and offer to correct: Qdoba apologized for not having ran the promotion and immediately activated their social media account to run the advertised promotion.
3. Follow Up: After my visit to the local Qdoba restaurant and check in Twitter and Foursquare, Qdoba acknowledged me and thanked me for stopping by.
4. Integrate social media with other marketing channels: Qdoba’s online promotion contest gives users the chance to win a free entrée added to their loyalty card which drives customers to their stores and continues the customer experience cycle.
After this experience Qdoba has gained a loyal customer and shown a brilliant example of how brands should behave in social media. I was a fan of Qdoba before this experience but now they can be sure that they’ve gained a loyal customer!
Alex Lund 
Posted on April 10, 2013
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