In a prior blog I talked about how social media should have you looking at approaching customer services in new, more efficient and varied ways. Taking this a step further, the most socially savvy businesses will utilise their social media portals to spread a positive brand reputation, connect happy customers and strengthen their customer support efforts.
Consumers aren’t in the business of blasting negative feedback across the social media airwaves unless they feel like they aren’t being listened to. Happy customers who have their issues resolved in a timely manner are highly likely to share their good experience with their own contacts. It pays to treat customers well, not just to bring them back, but also for their word of mouth brand backing across their personal social networks. Satisfied customers can become your most influential brand ambassadors, often answering customer service enquiries online themselves, and also giving examples of their own experiences.
So how do you give the customer such a good experience that they might become a brand ambassador? Reply to their enquiries as quickly as you can manage. Customers expect to be answered asap, and if that time isn’t to their satisfaction you risk making them even more vocally unhappy. Never let the customer get the impression you don’t care about them – answer all queries and complaints as quickly as your workflow will allow.
It is also important to be visible when you are dealing with customer service issues. Don’t hide, and let other customers see issues being resolved. It is also imperative to be consistent with your customers, deal with them in the same way and treat them as equally important.
In the same vein, organisation when dealing with customers has to be really evident, as disorganisation is evident to anyone dealing with you. Have a clear workflow on how to deal with customer service issues – always appear unflappable to your customer, or you risk not inspiring confidence in your ability to serve them!
Following on from this, be human. Social media allows you to interact with your customer base in a way that has never been possible up to now – make them feel comfortable and as if they are interacting with their own social networks.
Social media presents you with these opportunities to interact with your customer base, and if done well you will encourage them to share their positive experiences with others as well as their good feelings about your products and services.
