Forget customer service hotlines that put you on hold for an eternity.
Businesses here, big and small, are harnessing the power of 'tweeting' to quickly respond to queries or feedback, and to push new products.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) does it, so does Tangs. At last count, at least 20 local brands have corporate accounts with Twitter.com.
The popular microblogging site lets users - via computers or cellphones - post messages or notices and chat with other users, all within 140-character 'tweets'.
Tweeting has already taken the corporate world by storm in the United States.
Here, apart from the few big names like SIA and Tangs, small businesses like indie cinema Sinema Old School and Rochor Beancurd House have also got into the act.
Mr Jason Koh, owner of Rochor Beancurd House, set up the shop's Twitter account last December.
'It gives me a more personal touch and I get to know my customers' interests,' said Mr Koh, 30, who took over the 50-year-old business from his father. He has a degree in Information and Technology from Queensland University of Technology.
Sixty per cent of his patrons are Internet-savvy secondary and tertiary students.
He currently has about 300 followers on his Twitter account. They receive a notification - say, of new items - whenever he updates his profile. He alone manages the shop's account.
The Twitter account of department store Tangs is manned by a team of seven women in their early 20s and 30s.
Tangs' account has about 200 followers. Besides updating them on promotions and sending cheery responses to their comments, team members regularly upload pictures of themselves trying on the store's latest products.
'Our tone is casual and friendly. We don't restrict ourselves to using perfect English, and it's okay to be a bit more cheeky,' said team member and marketing executive Cheryl Han, 26.
Tangs also uses the site as a research tool. Ms Han said: 'If everyone's talking about a certain product and we don't have it, we will 'feedback' to our merchandising team.'
While an online presence may or may not translate to more direct sales or walk-in traffic, Ms Han feels that people these days, especially the younger generation, do not want to be fed information.
'They want to look it up online and we want a setting where people can exchange comments or have a friendly conversation with us,' she said.
Ms Michelle Yu, 18, a marketing intern who manages the Twitter and Facebook profiles of the Brewerkz, Cafe Iguana and Wine Garage chain of eateries, said: 'It's like the difference between service staff at fast-food outlets and good restaurants...You interact with the restaurant's server, hear his menu suggestions and you give your feedback.'
Mr Elvin Ong, public relations manager for semiconductor manufacturer Intel Technology Asia, agreed.
A year ago, he decided to merge his corporate account with his personal Twitter account, under the moniker Intel-Elvin. The account also carries a sporty-looking picture of the 35-year-old. He said: 'Social media like Twitter is all about managing relationships.
'By adding a voice and a face to a company, people know you're
real and you're here to listen. They start to build a relationship with you and, in turn, the brand.'
Mr Ong, who logs in nightly and even on weekends, said he does not mind the 24/7 nature of online instant feedback. 'It doesn't feel like work,' he said.
But as Tweeting allows for only short messages, complicated technical queries, for example, are better
addressed in person, over the phone or via e-mail, said Samsung Asia's public relations and new media manager Daniel Goh.
'It's difficult to troubleshoot within a 140-character limit.'
Ms Linda Fulford, managing director of Fulford Public Relations, also cautioned that brands could lose customers if their online profiles are left stagnant.
Feedback about bad service or poor-quality goods from disgruntled users may spread if not well managed, she said.
Ideally, she added, customers should be given incentives for wanting to follow a brand's updates on Twitter. This could be in the form of updates on sales and contests with attractive prizes, or references and links to industry write-ups.
Mr Ian Loon, associate director of public relations agency Starcom Media Worldwide, said the biggest draw of Twitter and other social media platforms is its low cost, compared to advertising fees.
'They can build a community of their own with minimal use of their media budgets,' he said.
However, Mr Kelvin Kuan, a communication strategist with Quantum Consulting, felt Twitter most benefits companies which already have a regular customer base.
'Twitter is good for publicity but you need a loyal or perhaps cult-like following if it is to be of any social or commercial use.'
