You've probably embraced social media as an important tool in your marketing toolbox, along with 89 percent of brands we encounter regularly, according to AdWeek. But, are you using it to fulfill the needs of your customers, or just to push out content and product information? As marketers we know the possible brand benefits or ROI on social media are endless: improving brand awareness, database growth, driving website or in-store traffic, as well as access to massive amounts of customer data. But even to this day, many brands are missing the boat on an increasingly important aspect of social media- the ability to provide fast, effective customer service.
In today's social landscape, every voice matters- both positive and negative. Each and every consumer with an internet connection can broadcast their negative experiences with your brand for countless others to read about, making proper handling of these situations imperative. But great response and timely solutions can help brands to maintain current customers, and even reach new ones. Simply put, superior customer service is the key to customer loyalty and increased sales, and social media is an effective tool to deliver that service.
A breakdown of the numbers
Currently, brands are only responding to about 20 percent of customer comments with an average response time of 11 hours. Nobody likes a flakey friend, do you expect them to like a flakey brand? The answer is no. Consumers have extremely high expectations for brand responses, 53 percent of those who tweet expecting a brand response, expect that response to come in less than an hour, according to the Lithium-commissioned study by Millward Brown Digital. That figure skyrockets to 72 percent when they have complaints. When companies don't meet these lofty response expectations, 38 percent feel more negative about the brand and 60 percent will take unpleasant actions to express their dissatisfaction, aka the dreaded negative review.
Benefits of good customer service
It's not all bad news for brands though. According to Moment Feed, when brands respond to product misuse with guiding explanations, shoppers who see the review responses are 186 percent more likely to purchase. When brands provide timely responses to fans, 43 percent are likely to encourage friends and family to buy their products, 34 percent are likely to buy more from that company, and 42 percent are willing to praise or recommend the brand through social media, says a study by Lithium. By making fans feel heard, brands can instantaneously turn detractors into evangelists. Evangelists leave great product reviews that ¾ of customers read before making a purchase. You may not have previously considered customer service a sales tool, but assuming I've now got your attention, I will walk you through building a sustainable customer service model.
How to build a customer service model
1) Choose your channels wisely
Are you understaffed and already spread too thin? Focus on doing one channel well as opposed to four incompletely. Go ahead and reserve the additional domains and handles for the future, but remain inactive and drive fans to the channel you have up and running.
2) Be transparent
Create a moderation schedule you and your team can handle, make the hours visible, and stick to it. Also, have the customer service agent initial or sign their name to humanize all responses.
3) Join the conversation
Not all customer service needs to be reactive, some of the most impactful conversations are proactive. By seeking out customers who are talking about your brand online, even if they are not using your handle, fans feel like you are truly listening.
4) Create a process
Whether you want to take requests offline, or handle directly on the page is up to you. But be sure to have a detailed process for escalation for you and your team. Clearly communicate back to your fans the next steps for resolution, never leave them feeling out of the loop.
5) Create a customer service account
If you worried about flooding your channels with service requests, create a separate customer service account. All matters of customer service can be funneled to that account to avoid channel clutter. Continually remind fans of this additional account.
Being able to reap the benefits of social media is entirely up to you and your team. Never before have brands been able to maintain so much influence on their customer shopping habits, but this power comes with responsibility. Create an experience your customers want to share, listen to their needs and adapt based on their feedback. Eliminate the standard push/pull relationship of social and instead maintain in ongoing conversation. Excellent customer service can be just the validation needed to turn fans into customer.