After interviewing nearly four dozen top brands about social customer care, several common themes have emerged to explain why some companies are doing it well while others are still struggling. As United's recent PR snafu confirmed, offline experiences can come online at any moment with the aid of a smartphone and a social media account, so brands must be ready to respond quickly.
Customer expectations are on the rise, and companies are realizing that they need to compete on customer experience instead of price. Social media, being a public channel, is a great place to compete on experience because companies can demonstrate outstanding customer service to the world. This, in turn, becomes a "reason to believe" for consumers deciding which companies to engage in a business relationship.
The Focus on Customer Service podcast has never been about bashing the companies that are doing it wrong; it's about celebrating the companies that are doing it right. As the host or co-host of all 50 episodes, I've had the pleasure of speaking with some of the best minds in the business and compiling key learnings about what the best brands are doing to stay on top in social media. I turned those learnings into a new book called Winning at Social Customer Care: How Top Brands Create Engaging Experiences on Social Media.
To celebrate the 50th episode of Focus on Customer Service, co-host Dan Moriarty returns to talk about his new role as Head of Digital at the Chicago Bulls, and then he and I cover the foundation of my new book, the "8 Steps to Winning at Social Customer Care".
Here are some of the key moments of the episode and where to find them:
1:05 Dan Moriarty talks about joining the Chicago Bulls as the Head of Digital
3:01 The difference between a social media-focused job and a broader digital role that includes website, mobile apps, etc.
6:20 How a podcast about social customer care turned into a book of best practices ("The 8 Steps to Winning at Social Customer Care")
11:37 Step 1: Building a Social Care Philosophy
16:34 Step 2: Picking the Right Technology
21:27 Step 3: Hiring the Right Team
24:25 Step 4: Training
26:59 Step 5: Establishing a Process
32:12 Step 6: Reporting
35:10 Step 7: Integration with the Core Business
41:00 The proliferation of messaging apps and the future of social customer care
Thanks to everyone who has listened to the Focus on Customer Service podcast during the past two years (or read the write-ups), and to Social Media Today for remaining a key supporter. Past episodes are available on iTunes, Stitcher, and SoundCloud.
Winning at Social Customer Care is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats.