During the 2013 Social Media Leadership Awards, Dennis Stoutenburgh, President and Co-Founder of Social Strategy1, spoke during the social media customer service panel also featuring American Airlines, BarclayCard US, Associa, and Chase.

“If you’re not engaging customers during the entire product life cycle through social media, you’re missing out. Because someone else will,” said Stoutenburgh, “A year ago, when [consumers] got a social media response from a brand on a customer care issue, they were pleasantly surprised…We’re getting to the point now that if companies don’t respond, they will have a black mark against them.”

Panelists underlined the importance of consistent social media monitoring, setting the tone for your brand through social media customer service, and discussed successful strategies for managing the volume of conversations occurring in the social space, even data that extends outside the typical social networks.

Most companies today have only integrated social media as a function of marketing and have yet to implement social across departments as a part of their business strategy. In 2014 companies will need to keep up with consumer demand for support through social media, or be prepared to face the risk of customer outrage in social.

Read more from the panel overview written by Knowledge@Wharton in “The Ignored Side of Social Media: Customer Service.”

Learn more about the Social Media Leadership Awards