How social media can boost customer service success
Have you ever complained about a brand on social media? Or asked a query publicly in their comments section?
The chances are yes.
From Facebook to Instagram, Twitter, or even Google Play – that’s where customers reach out to businesses, drop questions, leave reviews, and they expect businesses to act. It’s the new normal.
The quickfire, public nature of posts and tweets makes social media the perfect platform for getting businesses to respond promptly, for a positive outcome. However, a delayed response or an incorrect resolution can see a business subjected to a virtual pile-on – with not only the disgruntled customer, but others joining in the criticism.
It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.
Warren Buffet
We’ve all been witness to viral social media storms that start off small, but slowly escalate into a media crisis that ultimately impacts the brand’s reputation. A single bad review or an unaddressed customer complaint can put off not only existing customers but also cause prospects to think twice before making a purchase.
The benefits of social media in customer service
While the above demonstrates the dark side, social media when done right can be extremely beneficial in increasing brand loyalty and delivering results. By turning every complaint into a positive resolution and every inquiry into an opportunity – you can shape your social narrative, build long-lasting customer relationships, and ultimately bolster your brand reputation.
However, with a constant focus on marketing, brands still haven’t fully leveraged social media as a customer service platform.
Omnichannel customer service begins with social media. It’s not just digital natives, but all customer segments that are turning to social media and expecting businesses to be online and always available.
Why do customers message brands on social media?
By adding social media channels to your contact center you can improve customer service by taking full advantage of social media’s reach and connecting on channels that are personal and popularly used.
Why people go to social media for customer service?
Conversations, our cloud contact center solution, provides agents with a single view of customers’ history and past interactions. The added value of integrating your social media channels into your contact center solutions include:
- Efficient management of social media directly from a single interface
- No missed customer complaints due to volume of posts
- Fast customer service
- Improved customer experience across all touchpoints and increased satisfaction
- Increased brand reputation and value
- Improved social media ROI
Once you’ve integrated your social media channels into your contact center, it’s important to train your agents to address customer queries in the same way they would through other channels such as Email, WhatsApp, SMS, and Voice, Chats Apps, or Live Chat.
Remember, social media posts are available for everyone to see, so the quality of interactions should be up to your usual standards.
Engage with customers on their preferred social media channel
With billions of active users spanning all age groups, Facebook is one of the main channels that customers turn to when they want a quick response and quality service from a brand. By answering each comment publicly, or privately in Messenger, brands can not only provide quick resolutions to issues, but they can also build personal connections with customers.
Did you know that 90% of Instagram users follow a brand? Instagram has become a go-to channel for product discovery. Engaging in fast, rich conversations through Instagram direct messages, comments, and story replies enables you to turn every touchpoint into a premium service and selling point.
Twitter is another app that generates millions of brand mentions and conversations between customers and businesses. It is a great for creating immediate and personal connections with your followers, and showcasing your brand personality and voice. Again, it is best to respond promptly to every comment and direct message in a consistent brand voice.
Answering your customers’ queries makes them feel valued. React to every customer review on Google Play, positive or negative, and gather insights to identify bottlenecks and improve your product or service.
It is so much easier to manage your brand’s social media interactions at scale with an all-in-one cloud contact center solution. Social media empowers you to take ownership, solve problems and build trust, but you have to ensure that you protect your brand reputation.
Over 3.6 billion people use social media today, projected to increase to 4.41 billion in 2025. With the right tool you can harness that momentum to boost your customer service success.
