Think Twitter is just for fun, small biz and social media junkies?  Think again. This article from the Indy Star shares how health industry giant Wellpoint is using Twitter as part of their customer service strategy. By simply monitoring the Twitter stream they are answering consumer questions, resolving customer issues, real time, in a very public forum.

David Finkel, senior vice president of service operations for WellPoint says keeps Twitter up on an Internet browser at work and conducts regular searches for Tweets mentioning WellPoint, Anthem or its various Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans.  Describing his approach he says: “For me, it’s always been about trying to craft and build relationships with our customers.”

I think he has the right idea!  He won’t always have time to find every Tweet, but the more often he or a member of his staff can find and resolve issues, the more opportunities they will have to turn critics into fans.

Do you have a strategy to do the same in your busness?