How to Do Customer Support through Social Media
Social media has changed the way people interact with not only each other online, but also their favorite brands and businesses. Now, more people are engaging with companies and creating a more personal connection with businesses on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. And while this has opened up a number of opportunities for companies to market in a more personal way to their most loyal customers, it has also created a new challenge of addressing customer concerns and complaints in a public forum.
When a customer has an issue or bad experience with a good or service, it is easy for them to express their concern on the social media platform where they frequent the most. By doing this, they do not have to leave a website that they are comfortable with to try to navigate through the questions and forms just to get help or leave some feedback. For this reason, customer service has taken a forefront on social media and now, to stay competitive, small businesses are realizing the importance of embracing this platform in a new way.
If your small business is looking to stay on top of customer complaints and create stronger loyalty by showing off your exceptional customer service, there are a few things you can do.
Hire People who Have a Firm Grip on These Channels
Perhaps your team does not use social media as avidly as your top customers. Hiring people in your small business who think like your customers can be beneficial on a number of levels. When you have a team who understands social media, responding to customer concerns and complaints is easier and more effective. This can have a bigger impact on your business than you may initially realize. Having a team that knows how to work the system will help not only one individual customer, but also gives your brand image a boost among other like-minded consumers publicly.
Think of Social Media and Customer Service in Terms of the Golden Rule
Put yourself in the shoes of your customer. You have just had a negative experience and you are understandably upset. The easiest way for you to vent about this is how you vent about other aspects of your life – on Facebook or Twitter. When companies understand why customers are taking to social media to complain or seek help, it is easier to know how to respond to this type of forum. Putting yourself in the shoes of your customer makes it easy to know what they want when they get a response out of you.
Use a Monitoring Tool to Track Conversations
Small businesses need to know what is being said about their company online. To do this, a tracking tool can help. Marketers that use an automated tool to monitor conversations are better equipped to respond to complaints or concerns in a timely manner. This can have an immense impact on your overall customer service levels and can quickly turn a somewhat negative experience into a completely satisfied customer. Through the use of automated monitoring tools, customer service teams are notified when someone says something and can respond to rectify the situation at hand faster than traditional methods. Better yet, the public sees this quick response and is quickly encouraged knowing that the company is listening and actually cares about customer thoughts.
In social media, being a part of the conversation is crucial. This easy and inexpensive tool for handling customer feedback can give your small business the competitive edge it needs to excel. For more help on how to use social media to your advantage, contact our team of social media gurus today.