Social Customer Service

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

I read an article recently that said only 11% of people expect to receive customer service through social media. Since everyone and their grandma uses social media I found this statistic surprisingly low (as did the author of the article). By encouraging your customers to communicate via social media you can improve your customer relations while also gathering free customer feedback. Here are some thoughts on social customer service…

  1. Your customers are never left waiting

    There is nothing worse than being placed on hold. No one wants to listen to elevator music while sacrificing the use of one hand to hold their phone until you’re ready to ask them what their problem is. Instead, encourage your users to leave posts or messages via Facebook. That way you have instant info and can respond immediately with, “Hi Tom, I think I know what the problem is. I’ll check it out and get back to you in a couple minutes”, rather than impersonally begging your customers to “please hold”.

  2. Your customers already use social media

    People spend half their time checking social media as it is. If you make yourself available in that space rather than forcing your customers to call or email you with any little question, they will appreciate the convenience. Links to additional resources can also be easily shared with your customers under their post. If you’re lucky, maybe they’ll think of communication with your organization more as routine social behavior and less as a chore.

  3. You can publicly respond to common questions

    Communicating openly and publicly with your customers is a great way to boost customer loyalty. Customers will appreciate genuine person-to-person communication and in the case that someone posts something negative on your page/profile, the best thing you can do is publicly ensure that the issue is resolved.

  4. You can choose to handle matters privately via msg or chat

    If a customers inquiry requires a lengthier conversation, you have the option to invite them to communicate via another channel. Facebook and twitter both have private message/chat functions that can be used as an alternative to public comments.

So use your customer service to create some buzz. And get more social media tips Here!

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