Good friend Richard Binhammer of Dell (@richardatdell) reached out to let me know that the company is releasing the latest financial figures for its @DellOutlet account on Twitter tonight.

Last December, the company generated over $1 million in revenue through @delloutlet by posting special offers and also nurturing customer relationships on Twitter. Today Dell reported over $2 million in sales through its popular @delloutlet presence.  @delloutlet currently boasts close to 625,000 followers seeking exclusive deals available only on the micro community.

As Dell notes, “We’ve surpassed $2 million in revenue in terms of Dell Outlet sales, but we’re also seeing that it’s driving interest in new product as well. We’re seeing people come from @DellOutlet on Twitter into the Dell.com/outlet site, and then ultimately decide to purchase a new system from elsewhere on Dell.com. If we factor those new system purchases that come from @DellOutlet, we’re actually eclipsed $3 million in overall sales.”

@delloutlet has been active on Twitter since June of 2007, but as the chart visualizes, connection to Dell’s special pricing and the company’s vigilant focus on service and customer attention has helped attract over 500,000 followers in three months.

Current Dell involvement with Twitter focuses on listening, learning, and engaging in direct connections with customers. There are ~ 200 Dell employees using Twitter to interact with customers, including the product development team for Dell’s Mini line of fashionable and functional netbooks (@dell_mini).

In particular the Dell Mini team is leveraging Twitter to develop the next generation of netbooks. Other examples range from individuals in the CTO’s office to those who work on technology for education @edu4u and @paradigmshift, and of course the company’s largest business involving corporate data centers and servers (@dellservergeek, @brucerericatdell).

RichardatDell noted, “Like you say in your book Brian, this is about putting the public back in public relations where relationships are direct. The dedicated practice of connecting with customers generates real results on many levels. While this announcement focuses on revenue results and referrals to dell.com, they are also reinforced by the relationships and direct connections we have with customers everyday using the Web.”

Helpful Posts on PR 2.0:
– The State of Public Relations, Marketing and Communications: The Future is You
– Is Twitter a Broadcast or Conversation Platform (or Both)?
– Is Twitter Evolving from the Facebook to the Myspace of Microblogs
– Time Spent on Twitter Soars by Over 3,700%, Facebook 700%
– Gazing into The Twitterverse
– This is Not a Sponsored Post: Sponsored Conversations & the FTC
– Reviving the Traditional Press Release
– Twitter, Acquisition vs. Retention
– You Are Significant
– The Art and Science of Blogger Relations – Updated eBook
– In Social Media, The SEC Removes “Relations” from Investor Relations
– Twitter Flutters into Mainstream Culture: The New Competition for Attention Starts with You
– The Social OS, The Battle Between Facebook and Twitter is the New Mac vs. PC
– The Domino’s Effect
– Can The Statusphere Save Journalism
– The Conversation Index
– Social Media Influences Buying Decisions
– Is Social Media Recession Proof?
– The End of the Innocence
– The Social Effect and Disruption Theory
– Twitter and Social Networks Usher in a New Era of Social CRM
– Humanizing Social Networks, Revealing the People Powering Social Media
– I Like You The Emerging Culture of Micro Acts of Appreciation
– The Ties that Bind Us – Visualizing Relationships on Twitter and Social Networks
– Make Tweet Love – Top Tips for Building Twitter Relationships
– Are Blogs Losing Their Authority to the Statusphere
– Twitter Tools for Communication and Community Professionals
– Reinventing Crisis Communications for the Social Web

—
Connect with me on:
Twitter, FriendFeed, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Plaxo, Plurk, Identi.ca, BackType, Social Median, or Facebook
—

Subscribe to the PR 2.0 RSS feed.

Kindle users, subscribe here.
—
Now available: