Does a brand’s community health reflect the quality of their customer service?

What is Community, why is it interesting and complementary to Customer Service in social media?

I stumbled upon this question as an enticement to join a webinar presented by Sharad Mohan, Director of Customer Success at HootSuite, and Caty Kobe, Community, Support & Education Manager at Get Satisfaction.

Me thinks…

A brand’s community health (success) is a direct reflection of their level of commitment to delivering great customer service. As the brand participates in the community conversation it is measured by how it reacts and treats their members. The brand is judged on how well it responds to member needs, meets expectations and resolves issues (whether this is done in private or public the issue potentially will be broadcast). This level of support essentially determines, in the community members eyes, the value of the brands customer service.

This topic gets me thinking about Service Design. If a brand can look holistically at its service offering across channels, touch points, engagement opportunities, aware that the value of its brand will be assessed beyond its “control” – it has the potential that its customers will do more to contribute to support each other (aka customer service) because of the affinity those customers feel for the brand.