In today’s modern society the customer’s voice is louder than it has ever been. They are more savvy to getting the best value for their money, constantly hunting down deals and vouchers, and quick to share news about their latest experiences as a consumer.
On the flip side, a company’s reputation for providing good service to their clients has never been so vulnerable. A customer complaint has the potential to reach thousands of eyes in an instant, so customer satisfaction is desperately important if you want to keep a strong online reputation.
Currently customer service departments are having to seriously adapt how they operate to allow for social media based communications from customers. Social Media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn can level the playing field enabling businesses of all sizes to interact directly with customers like never before – so your company must look at this as an opportunity to increase customer satisfaction.
It is highly likely the customer service communications coming your way will be one of the following; product issues, suggestions on product and service improvements, and indications of better ways to support and interact with your customers. The best approach you can take is to respond quickly and cordially, no matter the subject and tone of their communication.
Always remember that your modus operandi is to turn the bad experience a customer has brought to your attention into a good one. You want to save that relationship with the customer and ideally have them positively praise your care and responsiveness.
It is possible to measure the success of your efforts in this area as well – and I know all too well there are often naysayers in any company who think time is better spent elsewhere. If you can come back with metrics such as proving your responsiveness with average reply time, complaints numbers decreasing, praise increasing and quick resolutions on the up as well (especially if you are playing a part in reducing the volume of calls customer services are dealing with) then you are demonstrating the important value social media can bring to customer service.
Solving customer issues quickly and efficiently via social media shows both your dedication to their consumer experience and your transparency as a company serving them.
