How Companies Succeed in Social Business: Case Studies and Lessons from Adobe, Cisco, Unisys, and 18 More Brands

16. Social Support UNtruths—When Received Wisdom Is Not Wise

Francoise Tourniaire, Owner, FT Works

As a consultant, I help technology organizations improve their support and customer success operations, and projects often include communities. When my clients ask me whether they should do X or Y, my go-to answer is, “It depends.”—and I understand how frustrating it is to hear that.

Aren’t there best practices for support and social support in particular? Of course there are, and I’m always happy to expound on them, but over the years, I’ve found that even best practices that seem so self-evident might not be so true, at least in specific situations. So I thought I would gather a few real stories that are exceptions to commonly accepted best practices. ...