Interview 5 With Discover Financial Services

If you happened to read my post entitled A College Student’s Credit Nightmare, then you might remember that Discover was the only company willing to give me my own credit card at the time.  I was incredibly thankful then for that, and I’m incredibly thankful that Discover was willing to answer my questions.

What is your name and official title at your company?

Suzanne S.

Social Media and Brand Manager

What is the name of the company you work for, and what does it specialize in?

Discover Financial Services

Consumer lending, Online Savings Credit Issuing and Processing.

You can learn more about all the areas of our business at Discoverfinancial.com including:
Discover Card
Discover Network
Discover Bank
PULSE
Diners Club

When did your company decide to create its online, social media presence?

Spring of 2008

Why did your company choose to establish that presence?

We chose to move into social media for several reasons:

- Growing participation of consumers in this space

- Ability to gain customer and competitive insights

- Potential marketing value

We also believe there’s value in continuing to provide our customers with a high level of customer service through social media.

Ultimately we want to continue to grow a strong, positive brand presence online and social media is a cost-effective way to do that.

Which social media tool or service (twitter, Facebook, youtube, etc.) has proved most beneficial to your company and why?

Each space provides a unique format to interact with consumers and has different value, such as, service versus sales.

Is your company using multiple services? If so, which ones?

We’re engaged in Facebook, Twitter and the blogosphere. Check out Discover.com/community for a closer look.

If the answer to the above question is yes, do you feel there is a benefit to having a presence on multiple social media outlets? If so, why?

Each venue is unique and serves various audiences. It all works together.

Is your company using these services mainly as a marketing tool, customer service outlet, or just as a way to connect to its customers in general? In other words, what’s your overall objective for social media strategy?

It’s all of the above.

[I e-mailed back for an elaboration on this. Will post as soon as I hear back.]

Do you have someone on your staff entirely dedicated to managing your online presence? If so, what do you feel are the benefits of having a dedicated social media staff member?

[My] role is dedicated to both social media and online brand management. Dedication is required to stay on top of the changing technology of social media and uncover best practices while maintaining a consistent voice from the company.

What sort of clients or customers do you see embracing these social media tools? Is it just the geeky type, the brand evangelists, or are you starting to see average everyday people using them to connect to your company?

The statistics will tell you it’s virtually everyone now.

How does the volume of communication from social media outlets compare to that of traditional communication sources for your company such as e-mails and telephone communication? In other words, are more customers calling you, or are they communicating with you through social media?

Not surprisingly, the volume in social media is lower than traditional channels like phone and mail but we anticipate growth in social as well as mobile technologies.

Do you give the customers that contact you through social media means any sort of special treatment such as priority customer service or special incentives? If so, why?

We remain consistent to our customer service standards across all channels.

Thanks so much, Suzanne!