It is no longer a secret that social media channels are used for assisting customers on a daily basis. Customers tend to ask questions and resolve their issues publicly. In fact, 90% of consumers surveyed by Social Sprout have used social media in some way to communicate with a brand. Over a third (34.5 %) said they preferred social media to traditional channels like phone and email. No doubt that listening to customers on social media has become the main priority for any business today. And the main challenge is how you respond to your audience. Obviously that building better relationships with your customers through social media can add up to huge wins when it comes to customer loyalty and your brand reputation. Before we start exploring the main secrets of social media customer support, here are statistics you cannot ignore:
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Social Media Customer Service Stats and Trends You Need to Know (Infographic)
With over 2 billion Facebook users, +700 million Instagram users, and +300 million Twitter users, it’s no longer enough for brands to be merely present on social media. They need to be active and engaging. Today’s customers want their voices heard and problems resolved quickly and effortlessly whenever they reach out to brands on social media. And if brands are not part of the conversation – they will be left behind. Obviously, it’s no longer a question if your business should listen to customers on social media – it’s a question of how you listen and, what’s even more important, how you respond. By delivering great customer support on social media, you can truly build stronger relationships with customers and improve customer loyalty. In fact, according to Aberdeen, companies that have a well-crafted social customer service approach experience 92% customer retention.
Continue readingHow to Turn a Social Media Complaint into a Success Story (Infographic)
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.
Continue readingBrands 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 reading5 Reasons Companies Fail To Meet Social Media Expectations
The automotive body repair shop is typically a dusty, smelly, male-dominated facility. Since the beginning of time this industry has been labeled as untrustworthy, legitimizing the status quo of caveat emptor. Only recently have shops been trying to revolutionize the trade by offering clean facilities, wi-fi, coffee and play areas for kids. Some, like Toronto-based Hilary Ann started a crowdfunding campaign and subsequently launched an all-female auto body shop, Ink & Iron Automotive. Her business got every auto body shop in the city curious and talking about the changes it would bring. In other words, a single business can raise the expectation bar and disrupt the entire industry – forcing others to either adapt to new conditions or see demise. Social media is really no different.
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 readingSocial Media Role for Customer Service [Infographic]
Social media is more and more used as customer support media today. Consumers like to post their complaints on Facebook and ask questions via Twitter. That is why it is important to provide customer support using social media networks. While this improves not only trust and loyalty but also helps to protect your brand against negative posts. When you react fast to the questions your customers ask on social networks, you provide not only excellent customer experience but also show that your company is real and can be trusted. Check this infographic to find out the importance of social media channels for customer service and their pros and cons.
Continue readingSocial Media for Customer Service or How to Reach your Customers Beyond your Traditional Support Channels
Social media is known to be the one of the most important marketing media today. Also its importance for customer service is growing dramatically – more and more customers prefer making complaints and posting regarding their issues on social media channels. By addressing such complaints, questions and just talking to your customers you will improve their loyalty and your company’s brand awareness. According to Aberdeen Group research organizations are seeing 45% increase in customer satisfaction and 39% in customer loyalty with use of social media channels. Moreover, not only satisfaction and retention play important role in using social media for customer service, time of response and cost are also very attractive when using such channels. A study by Simply Measured showed that 99% of brands are on Twitter, and 30% of them have a dedicated customer service line. Average response time on Twitter was 5.1 hours, with 10% of companies answering within one hour. It’s a great alternative to email support, where the response time varies from 12 till 48 hours.
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