Can social media improve customer service for businesses? Growth of your business depends on how well your customer service is. It’s really important that you give good customer service. The fact is, people are using social media for customer service.
The most common reasons why people use social media for customer service.
- seeking an actual response about a service issue from the business
- they want to praise your business for the great service that they received
- to voice or vent their frustration on the poor service that they experienced
- asking other people about your service experience and recommendations
- people want to communicate to the company and not some offshore call center
- convenience
Image via CrunchBase
With the current consumer uptake of technology, the demand for online customer service will grow rapidly. Businesses’ be ready. Here are some ways you can improve customer service on social media.
- be personal to consumers
- respond quickly and generously give gifts or offer promotional products
- offer Skype or live chat option with a person for sales, service, consultations, account enquiries, etc.
- offer option for customer surveys and site suggestions to regular customers or site visitors
- offer delivery service and create good return policies
- customer engagement to allow booking for online meetings or appointments
- provide information on products and common service problems with solutions
- stock availability in stores or area
- allow online lay-by & rain checks for customers
- create loyalty programs
- provide parking and transportation information to site
- build online communities and forums for consumers and users to monitor and reward people
English: TICSS Customer Service Measurement Model (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Businesses need to throw out the old model of ringing for customer service. Why? The old system needs to be reinvented to meet and exceed the people’s expectations. Businesses can no longer funnel people through a channel. You need a hybrid model of a funnel system and social media touch points (include mobile devices) for customer service. You need to rebuild your customer service strategy to include all the ways people can interact with your business. Include Sales, PR, Customer Service or Marketing to design a better customer service model. Does PR, marketing or customer service members respond to online customer service? What other ideas can improve customer service on social media?
Related and Contributing articles
- More and more people are using Social Networks for customer service (buzzom.com)
- Social Media’s High Maintenance Customers by Tom Ryan
- 5 Ways to Take Customer Service to the Next Level by Mark Hayes
A Brand Enhancer in Communications. I fit naturally with technology, curious about science and avid consumer of news to gain insights. You can follow me on Google+ , LinkedIn , Twitter .
Aqua Black Cat 
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