Date: April 7, 2020
Category: Blog
In this ever-connected and vocal world, social media customer service is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s a necessity.
Your competition have a social media presence, and why? Simply because that’s where their customers are, leaving reviews, opinions, praise and complaints.
It’s standard to have a customer service presence on social media, but what sets your brand apart is making sure your customer’s experience is the best it possibly can be…
Establish your Brand Voice
There should be complete fluidity through all of your online content, and your customer service platforms are no exception. Any and all brand information should be communicated to your Customer Service Team, empowering each member of the team to deliver a personalised customer service experience as a representative and advocate of the brand.
Respond to all Interactions
It’s important to respond to all interactions/comments that head your way; be this in the form of complaints, queries, or positive feedback. It’s not just your tagged interactions you need to keep an eye on, either- be sure to search your brand name regularly (including mis-spellings) and respond to people discussing your brand.
Steer clear of cherry-picking or avoiding interactions. By responding to a negative comment, you’re openly attempting to re-build the relationship with your customer and restore their faith in your product/service. Not only will the customer appreciate you taking steps to help, but you’ll also set the precedence to other customers that you’re open, honest and ready to help should anything go wrong.
A study by Bain & Company suggests that when companies engage and respond to customer service requests over social media, those customers, on average, end up spending 20% to 40% more with the company.
Be Timely
Though social media is a written form of customer support, it’s important to recognise that it’s not email…
Both social and live chat are cited in numerous surveys as being the two main forms of support customers reach for when in need of a speedy response. Customers aren’t looking for the same level of formality they look for with an email response; they want quick and accurate.
The key is to bring employees on to the team who can handle the speed required for social, whilst keeping up the right tone of voice for the brand and maintaining a high level of accuracy (phew!)- no pesky spelling/grammar mishaps or mistypes…
Personalise
Greet the customer with their name and sign off with your name, as well.
Although IVRs and automated systems can be incredibly helpful tools in certain situations, nothing creates a better customer experience than simply speaking to a friendly, helpful, efficient person,who’s taken the time to understand your query and catered their response to your situation.
Simply hearing your customer out will ensure that you’re able to personalise your customer experience- something regularly cited as a must by customers. By asking your customer the right questions, you can get to the bottom of their situation in a few interactions as possible, which means you can get straight to the the helping part!
Check, Check, Check
Social media can be a particularly fast-paced, demanding customer service medium.
An estimated 67% of consumers now look to social networks like Twitter and Facebook for customer service (JD Power), with 33% of customers admitting that they prefer to contact brands via social media instead of calling (Nielsen).
But this demand shouldn’t compromise the ability to handle all interactions to the highest possible standard. Spelling and grammar mistakes can result in the customer losing faith in the capability of the Customer Service Team and, ultimately, the brand.
The key to success here is to select and recruit Advisors with the relevant skills- a high level of written communication and an attention to detail- rather than selecting Advisors based solely on availability.
Think you need help with your social media customer service? Simply get in touch.
