Social Media is the world’s largest customer service platform. Like it or not, consumers are sharing their experiences and their views about your business on various social media platforms. Too many companies haven’t realized that by ignoring these comments -some good, some bad- and leaving them unanswered, represents a disconnect between business & customer… and is a very real form of poor customer service.
Consumers expect a lot from social media. Every business must be available for their stakeholders. Comments & questions must be addressed in a timely manner. Nothing worse than a consumer trying to complete an online purchase, make a reservation or asking a product related question and feeling as though nobody is home. At that point they’ll go elsewhere and you’ve missed a revenue generating opportunity. Worse, when they decide to describe the poor experience on a social network for all to see, it can influence many potential prospects to sidestep your business or service for one of your competitors’.
Address problems quickly and happily for the consumer, thereby turning that negative into a positive. Allow your social media team the latitude to handle concerns in the best interests of your customer…which is in the best of interest of your company. Having consumers shuffled from one department to another while trying to resolve the issue is time consuming and frustrating for your customer. If an issue is complex and requires some explanation, directly provide your contact information to the customer for a one on one resolution.
Insure that your social media “voice” properly represents your brand. Be friendly, engaging and always make sure your spelling is correct, paying particular attention to your customers’ names. When a consumer takes the time to pass along a positive comment, thank them for the feedback and for their continued patronage. On Twitter you can reply to and re-tweet positive feedback.
None of this is rocket science. It’s called social media for a reason, and while it may be relatively new on the marketing landscape, its importance to the overall customer service experience can not be overstated. Although social media can be considered a marketing function, it truly permeates all departments.
So embrace the opportunity to engage your customers and turn negative experiences into positive ones. Promptly handle and solve issues, and you’ll reap the revenue rewards from consumers who decide to share their satisfaction publicly, and end up with an even larger base of new customers.