Social media gives you an immediate access, and a lack of opportunity to filter your thoughts. What you feel, you express, in that moment. With smartphones, you can do it all the time. This has a huge impact on businesses because reputations can be made and broken on social media, by one angry customer whose posts go viral. It’s imperative to have a social media presence so that you know when you are mentioned, and you can respond appropriately. This is a scary thought, but it can work to your advantage if you follow these tips when you handle customers who make their feelings known loud and clear on social media. Customer service on social media, if done well, can be an excellent tool for your brand’s image management.
In the good old days, when you had to find a customer service number and call, or find an email id and write in, these were the customer service problems:
- Find the customer service number and make call – Unless the number is readily available, it is difficult to trace it. Even if you have the number, you might have wait time or might require to converse endlessly to explain your point. Not to forget, it also involves multiple call transfers.
- E-mail query – Many a times, you are asked to either e-mail your query and there is no guarantee as to when will you get response. Even if you get one, it might take days.
- Contact form – Some brands also seek the customer to submit a contact form where you need to write your query along with some of your personal details. This is again a vague idea as we are sure where the form is heading and who will respond.
So before your customers complain, make your social media presence a positive one. Here are some ways to improve social media customer service:
- Immediate Communication – The best thing about social media is that it allows immediate action. The minute someone posts a concern on a social media wall, such as Facebook or Twitter, the admin gets a notification and can act immediately. If you respond quickly, they will be mollified, instead of simmering in rage as they wait.
- More personal brand experience – Social media allows you to send your response in a more casual way, which makes it more informal and less hostile. This again aids in improving customer service.
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And he’s turned into a happy dog! Social media magic! Transparent communication – Transparency can be a two-way lane. On one hand customer gets the opportunity to be heard through social media and for a company it can portray how well it can handle a situation. When you handle a difficult situation well on social media, your brand’s image improves drastically. This is gets you goodwill that money can’t buy.
- Encourage more brands of your own – With more social media interaction, the company gets more visibility and the potential to showcase their other brands and products. This way they get to interact more with customers.
Also Read: 4 Digital Marketing Tips That Have Created Success Stories
- Easy follow-ups – Of course, follow-up on social media is easy and fast and you can get immediate feedback from the customer to know if they are content with your feedback. When you listen to your customers, they are less likely to be angry with you. If they like you, you look better on social media. This is important for image management on social media, too.
