Facebook and Twitter are playing a more prominent role in customer service so it is increasingly important that businesses learn how to utilise social media.Comments and complaints are no longer restricted to a company or product website and are now being made available to millions of online users when they are posted on various social networking sites.Businesses should understand how to use social networking sites to improve customer service or they risk having their reputation damaged by negative comments left online by unhappy consumers.Organisations can take advantage of social media by monitoring what customers are saying about their products and services as consumers are more likely to post on Facebook and Twitter to air their grievances.A business with a presence on Twitter can use a quick keyword search to discover recent tweets containing their company name, their products or relevant search terms as this will show them what is being posted online.Once you know what is being said about your organisation, the next step is to engage with them through interaction and you can do this by inviting favourable comments to repeat their purchase but with an added discount.If you come across negative feedback relating to one of your products or services then the important thing to do is directly message the user to learn more about the issue in order to find a resolution as quickly as possible.Engaging with all of your customers can be incredibly time consuming so it is important to prioritize your involvement as some consumers can be more influential compared with others.You should reply to as many comments as possible but negative remarks should receive top priority as these can have a seriously negative effect on your business' reputation if it is left unresolved.Customers much prefer to interact with a company that listens and responds accordingly so using social media will increase your transparency which will generate stronger relationships with consumers.Once you understand how to improve customer service through social media the next step is to drive businesses towards your organisation by interacting on Twitter and Facebook.If you come across a tweet from a customer asking for product suggestions you may want to reply to them with a special offer.Companies who want to learn how to improve customer service should employ performance improvement consulting experts as they can apply systems thinking theory to eliminate waste in all departments.