- Delivering customer service on social media is different
because it's often public.
When a person posts about their displeasure
or excitement over your company's products,
that exchange is available for all to see
and judge based on how you respond.
Yet, many companies still ignore complaints shared
on social media, leading to a customer's net promoter score
dropping by 43% when their comments go unanswered.
Avoid this outcome and embrace social media
first customer service to stand out from your competitors
and build stronger bonds with your customers
by following this advice.
First, you need to know where exactly customers
are complaining and providing feedback
about your business in order to listen
and respond to what they're saying.
While social media monitoring tools
like Keyhole and Mention can help you find mentions
of your business across channels,
looking manually on each network works too.
For companies that serve consumers,
networks like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
are often where they receive the most feedback.
If a business has a retail location,
that's when it's important to check
Yelp, Google, TripAdvisor, OpenTable
and other locally focused networks
where customers leave reviews.
For organizations serving other businesses,
check out the reviews and commentary on LinkedIn,
G2 Crowd, Product Hunt, Capterra and elsewhere.
With the right channels in mind,
it's important to consistently listen
and always respond to your customers regardless
if a message is positive or negative.
Responding to positive feedback is easy
as the tone of the conversation is often lighthearted
and can result in fostering a stronger bond
amongst your satisfied customers.
Addressing negative feedback is more difficult,
but essential for publicly demonstrating
your empathy and the ability to solve
your customers' issues in a reasonable manner.
When dealing with a complaint,
it's important to publicly acknowledge
the message and then if possible,
move the conversation to a private forum on that network.
For instance, if someone reached out
on Facebook about a defective product,
it'd be best to comment publicly
by apologizing, letting them know
you'll make things right and saying
you'll resolve the problem by continuing
the conversation in a private Facebook message.
This way you're giving the customer the support
they need, acknowledging the problem
for anyone else watching
and limiting any additional public backlash
by making it private.
Aim to keep these conversations
on the same network as where they started,
as it's quicker and easier for the customer
to engage with you from the same channel.
Another consideration is answering every customer service
message within 24 hours or less,
as consumers expect companies
to respond quickly on these channels.
Instead of waiting on the phone or typing out
a long email, it is easier for customers
to just leave a comment or send over a tweet
and with this ease, consumers expect a fast reply.
At the end of the day, what's most important
about social first customer service
is that you're making it clear to your customers
that you not only listen and respond,
but take action as well.