This post from TechCrunch a few months ago sums up my opinion nicely. I think this is a great idea in theory. Best Buy gets a massive online PR boost from publicizing its help desk questions. Customers seem to be receiving responses quickly, and all of this is put out on display for all Web users to see.

Given Twitter’s increasing impact on SEO standings, all of these brand-name keywords are being associated with Best Buy’s inbound links. (There’s another one for you, Best Buy. =) There’s really no negativity here for Best Buy, although their vendors may not appreciate dirty laundry about their products being made public. Or, maybe they view it as a benefit to correct problems at the manufacturing source.

My main question, as you may have guessed, is what is the ROI of all this? Well, the cash outlay for starting a Twitter account. Then all that is required is an MIS system to relay customer requests to an available “Twelper.” Incremental costs seem minimal.

Ideas for how Best Buy is measuring ROI:

• Online sales can be directly measured from inbound links Twitter sends to the Best Buy site. A Twelper could suggest a new USB hub for a user who’s run out of ports, and then said user buys it from the site. In addition, this also creates interesting online coupon opportunities.
• The greatest benefit may be to Best Buy’s online reputation score. Since consumers know they can go to Twelpforce for free help or to reference a problem they may be having, the company will receive a public relations boost. But, will someone buy a similar item at Wal-Mart and then use Twelpforce to receive help on it? The online reputation boost may help Best Buy increase sales with the loyalty play.

Jeremy Garland
Twitter ROI