Customer service has shifted more and more online over the past couple of decades, and increasingly that means customers are reaching out via social media when they have an issue that they’d like you to resolve. It’s a great opportunity for businesses, as this kind of semi-formal interaction is likely to increase that customer’s spend by 20-40% when they are dealt with appropriately. Perhaps it’s something to do with the way we form our identities online, now: who we talk to, the platforms we use, and the things we buy, all form the way we see ourselves. Of course, it isn’t always good news when you notice a tweet or Facebook comment from a customer. Frequently, these platforms are used to make a public complaint – either because they can’t find another way to get through to you, or because they believe that dealing publicly with the issue makes you more likely to resolve it quickly. Hopefully, they’re right – and you will be keen to turn this potential upset into positive publicity. It just takes a bit of insight and a little social media flair – all skills you can pick up online.
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Brands Ignoring Consumers on Social Media Are in Trouble (Infographic)
Gone are the days when we didn’t need to worry about using social media for customer support. But today, it’s not even a question. According to the Sprout Social report 90% of people surveyed have used social media in some way to communicate directly with a brand. The bad news is that brands reply to just 11% of people leaving the majority of inquiries ignored. It means that most businesses continue to use social media as a promotional marketing tool instead of a two-way customer communication channel. In fact social media has already become the preferred customer service channel for millennials, and it is growing in popularity for older groups too. What’s more, whenever people turn to social for customer support, they want a response much faster than most organizations are either willing or able to provide. The same survey found that the average time it takes brands to respond to a social media message is 10 hours, though most people consider under 4 hours reasonable.
Continue reading12 Reasons I Want Customer Service on Social Media
It goes without saying that today’s gigantic Twitter and Facebook user base makes brands more accessible than ever. Customer service via social media can no longer be considered as a luxury but as an essential component of any customer service strategy – for two simple reasons: Everyone’s thumbs are practically connected to their cellphones – it gives little room for companies to consider alternatives. Your brand is already online (whether you like it or not) and ignoring social media can be detrimental to your success as a company. Instead of talking about what businesses should or shouldn’t do, let’s examine what social media does to customers and their expectations. Technology has changed to the point that a customer can learn anything they want about a product (or brand) on their own, before they even speak to a company representative. With all this power comes great responsibility, so here’s my reasons for using social media for customer support (I encourage brands to take notice):
Continue readingHow Social Media Is Affecting Customer Service (Infographic)
Complaining customers are, unfortunately, an inevitable fact of business life. The way you respond to and handle their complaints will determine whether your customers share on social media how terrible your company is or will remain happily loyal to your brand. Today social media channels are used not only for chatting with friends, they have also become a powerful source of sharing experiences and complaining about products or services. However, it would seem that businesses are somewhat lagging behind with their customer service “responsibilities” online. Because of this, customers are becoming confused, frustrated and, perhaps most significantly, impatient. Customers will no longer bear with unresponsive or unsatisfactory customer service online. They will look elsewhere and share their damaging reviews on your dealings with them. This in return will undoubtedly taint your business and ultimately lead to a major loss in profit.
Continue readingThe 5 Musts of Social Media Customer Service
If you’re using social media purely as a marketing tool, you’re probably doing it wrong. Social media networks have become a prominent channel for customer service. Yet, there’s still a huge gap between what consumers want from customer service on social media and what many businesses are actually delivering. Here’s the 5 musts of social media customer service to help your business bridge this gap and improve your social customer support performance. 1. Never ignore social media customer service The very first and the most important step is simply realizing that social customer service matters. You might be skeptical of various statistics reflecting the social media role in customer service, but you can’t deny the fact that customer feedback on social media is public and visible to anyone. While consumers are more likely to turn to social media for sharing their negative experiences with companies, your brand’s reputation might be hurt if you let things go hang.
Continue readingSocial Media Tools for Customer Service
As companies gain more experience in social media, they further integrate social communication into their customer service strategies. In the Age Of The Customer, it is extremely important to ensure your business has a strong online presence and equip your team with the right social media tools for customer service. Whatever platform or channel your customers choose to reach out to you (or just tell the world about their experience with your company), stay relevant, be ready to respond — and make the most of customer feedback. In this article on using social media for customer service, we would like to get you familiar with some great tools designed to optimize your social customer support performance. Read on to discover trends and tips that will give your customer service a chance to shine.
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