Pandemic or not, customer service is currently under construction like never before. Businesses are increasingly favoring the digital-first approach when it comes to engaging with their customers, and the swift rise of social media is accountable for the shift in strategy. As many as 65% of consumers between the ages of 18 and 34 believe that social media platforms are an optimal communication channel. With 55% of social media users of the same age range continuously using Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to praise brands they’re loyal to, it’s clever to assume that the social customer experience is getting a big makeover.
There are several reasons why social media is taking over customer service:
- It’s an easy way to personalize the customer experience (CX). No one wants to get templated responses to their questions anymore. To maintain authenticity and boost customer retention, you should use your customers’ names and talk to them like you would with a friend. Social messaging allows you to do that while still sounding professional.
- It helps to improve the company’s reputation. The old-fashioned ‘your call is important, please hold the line’ doesn’t sound appealing to today’s digital-savvy customers. Not only is it often met with frustration and long waiting time, but it also ruins the brand’s reputation. Social media shortens the period of time customers have to wait to get a response and is thus viewed as a preferred alternative to phone calls and emails.
- It’s where the majority of prospects spend their free time. There are close to 5 billion people using social media That’s over half of the world’s population. Whether they use it for entertainment or to connect with their favorite companies, there’s no doubt that people are spending a lot of time refreshing their Instagram and Twitter feeds multiple times a day. This makes digital communication an appealing way of reaching your customers and building relationships with them.
- It’s a super time- and cost-effective solution for fixing customers’ issues. Unlike the lengthy and costly phone calls, replies on social media platforms don’t take nearly as much time or effort. You can also simultaneously browse the messaging history and refer to previous messages when helping the customer with the problem he’s currently dealing with.
Companies switching to using social media as their main form of communication with customers is a no-brainer. It works like a charm when trying to reach millions of users and engage with them as regularly as possible. It’s also how brands can get inside the customers’ heads and find out how they’re expecting companies to approach them and what are the best methods to understand their ever-changing needs and wants.
Now that you’re aware of what the future of social customer experience looks like, you should leverage the social media platforms you’re using to better serve your customers. Here’s how you can be the first one among your competitors to provide social media-based customer service:
- Appoint a customer service agent or a social media manager to oversee social media accounts
Some decide to set up a separate social media account on the same platform for addressing customer issues. Other businesses respond to customer queries from a single account. The rule of thumb is that unless you’re getting dozens of messages on a daily basis, appointing someone to manage social channels should suffice. Once you have established what strategy you’ll be using, make sure you’re responding to every message you get. Some companies make the mistake of not checking their messages on social media often enough or leaving them to marinate for too long instead of tackling them straight away. This can backfire and lead to your prospects leaving you for a more customer-oriented competitor of yours. - Create and adhere to the rules for providing social customer support on social media platforms
Ensure that the guidelines you put in place for handling customer queries on social media are aligned with your brand’s values. That is, the company’s voice tone should be maintained throughout every conversation while the templates for answering repetitive questions should help with speedy answers. Speaking about the response time, it’s smart to set a time limit for getting back to customers. A whopping 79% of customers expect you to message them back within 24 hours and 39% of social media users want a response in the span of an hour. It’s safe to say that the more you make your customers wait, the more likely they are to switch to your competitor. And although you can’t possibly be serving them 24/7, it helps to set the customer expectations accordingly. - Offer free sources for your customers to make use of without having to contact the brand directly
If you’re providing customer service on multiple channels, it might be tricky to keep up with them all without occasionally missing a message or two. This is where creating how-to’s and linking to helpful website pages or other resources comes in handy. Not to mention, it also saves you time and allows you to focus on solving more complex issues.If you’re offering customer support on Facebook, pinning posts with useful information is a must. Brands with Instagram as their main platform for communicating with customers should make the most of the Instagram Stories feature. You can save the stories your customers would find helpful by archiving them into your highlight folder that’s visible under the bio on the company’s IG account. - Adopt a chatbot for addressing common customer questions
Chatbots aren’t designed for websites only. You can build your own chatbot on a social media network like Facebook and scale your customer service strategy in no time. Take the time to learn how to make it work for you and you’ll be able to reach wider audiences, refer customers to the right web pages, and even handle customer transactions — all with the help of an automated tool. The best part — there are plenty of free chatbot building tools that are aimed at those who are just getting started. They will help you figure out how to use a chatbot to provide your customers with all the information they need in a blink of an eye. - Respond to both positive and negative reviews
This should be a no-brainer, yet there are still companies that choose to ignore customers complaints and negative reviews. By doing so, you’re missing out on the opportunity to turn a lead into a customer and losing potential revenue at the same time. Instead, consider engaging with customers even if their experience with your company hasn’t been all that great. Listen to what they have to say — social media helps to gather information about your audience’s needs and wants — and fix it before the negative word of mouth does a disservice to your company.
Contact Six Degrees Digital Media
Social media is here to stay, so you might as well learn how to use it to your advantage. Jump on the bandwagon and be among the pioneers of social messaging that guarantees to meet and exceed your customers’ needs all while making your job as a customer service agent easier. Book a consulting appointment with us today for a more rewarding tomorrow. Together, we can deliver better customer experiences.
