At least one startup is using Web 2.0 technology to do something more ambitious than tossing virtual sheep: Get Satisfaction uses social networking to provide customer service to companies.
"We help companies lower the costs associated with customer service while also fostering more engaged, more satisfied customers by using social tools," says Get Satisfaction co-founder and president Lane Becker in a Behind the Money video interview.
The idea behind Get Satisfaction is to set up a "third-party space" where customers can talk about different products and services. Companies can choose whether or not they want to participate in the discussion. Currently, 7,000 companies are being discussed on Getsatisfaction.com, with half the companies actively participating, according to Becker.
" Depending on the type of company, their customer support e-mail drops overnight 20% to 85 percent," he says. "At the same time they're building up their community."
