Real-time means now

David Meerman Scott talks about this in his book
Real-time Marketing & PR

        I'm not sure how many books will have to be written on the topic before companies realize, now means now. In this portion of Measure What Matters by Katie Paine, the author expands upon what is expected of a company in a real-time market.

Katie Paine with books she authored

        In order to keep consumers happy a brand needs to respond now, in real-time, without delay. In order to keep journalists happy, a company should respond immediately. But it should be noted that a company still must consider their actions before taking them. You must react quickly, but with purpose. Don't answer a question if you aren't sure you have the correct answer. It's ineffective and could set your company back.
        As one of my PR professors says about speaking to the press, "if you know the answer then by all means answer the question!" But if you don't know, say I will get right back to you. And then what do you do? Get the answer and call the reporter back that day. The same method should be applied to customer relations. Because we live in a real-time world, customers expect a real-time response. There is no reason you shouldn't give it to them.