On the social media everything is public and stays forever on news feeds. There are inspirational quotes. There are interesting videos. And then there is a negative comment from a customer. The way you deal with the last issue proves whether you are skilled at social media customer support or not.
How Important Is a Social Media Customer Support Strategy?
There is no debate on this topic – you must have such a plan in place and execute it professionally. The alternative is gloomy. According to recent statistics, the reactions of clients to poor social media customer support are:
- 50% will boycott the brand;
- 42% will share a negative experience with friends offline;
- 41% will tell their friends online about the issue.
That is tough, isn’t it? Half of the clients who did not receive a prompt and helpful answer to their comments and questions online will boycott the brand: stop buying from it and warn others not to buy from that company either.
Fortunately, it is quite easy to create, implement and maintain a solid social media customer service. In this article, we will share with you a few helpful and actionable tips.
These are:
1. Create a Special Handle for Customer Support on Twitter
The specific of this social media network – short and to the point written messages – make it the number one choice for consumers to contact brands with questions and complaints. Thus, it is worthwhile having a Twitter account if only to deal with this specific part of customer interactions.
To make things easier for your clients, create a special handle for social media customer support. For example, you can maintain handles called @brandname_help, or @brandname_support, which will clearly indicate their purpose.
2. Use Social Listening to Be Proactive in Answers
On certain occasions, customers will not tag your business name on Facebook™, Instagram of Twitter when they complain or leave a negative review. However, if you are constantly monitoring brand mentions, you will quickly discover these comments.
This gives you the opportunity to state your point of view, inquire into the issue and offer the client various options to solve it. Being so prompt is a very good point for your business, not just for the client in questions, but for everyone else.
Make no mistakes, all your followers are watching and judging you for your reaction. The logic is simple: the way you treat that particular customer is seen as the way you will treat others in a similar situation.
3. Not Available Around the Clock? Use Chatbots!
Chatbots for Messengers are now a common occurrence. So common, that many Facebook™ users are no longer aware whether they chat with another human being or with a chatbot.
Since they are available 24/7, chatbots are ideal as social media customer service agents, especially for companies doing business in various countries with different time zones.
4. Know When to Move the Discussion in Private
Never wash your dirty laundry in public, was stern advice we all received from parents when we were throwing temper tantrums in a store or on the street. This is very sound advice for your interactions with angry customers on social media, as well.
As far as possible, attempt to solve the issue in private, either by direct chat or by asking the customer for their email address. Thus, you can contact them to find out more about their issues. This is very important also in view of the strict rules for data privacy. You do not want to end up in trouble because you discussed details about a product order or payment terms with a client on your timeline.
5. Know at All Times How Happy Your Customers Are
A simple poll on Facebook™ or Twitter can help you understand how your clients feel about your social media customer service. From their answers and additional comments, you can identify the key issues and solve them.
Remember that it takes a lot of effort to find a new customer and just one mistake to lose them. So, don’t let too much time pass between such assessments. Your followers will not find them annoying. On the contrary, they will understand that you care about your clients and are striving to improve their shopping experience.