Tips for Using Social Media for Customer Service Support
Yesterday, when Jay Baer stopped by our office to give us a full run down of the latest in SM, one particular discussion stuck out to me. While we constantly remind our clients of this as we pass the SM torch over to them, it really is essential that companies utilize Facebook and Twitter accounts as an added component to a customer service team.
Jay noted that when a woman calls a company to reach customer service, she almost expects to basically get no where. When she emails, she may expect a response within a few days. But, when an individual hops on Twitter and Facebook and posts to a brand that has so openly requested her to interact, she wants a response/solution to her issues RIGHT NOW.
Below are some simple strategies to implement customer service into your Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Using Social Media for Customer Service
1) Monitor your social media accounts daily. Engaging posts are important, but know that you can’t always plan for what a fan/follower may post.
2) When a fan complains about your product, don’t delete the post. Let it be an open dialogue where you assure your fan that the problem is going to be addressed.
3) Respond to questions, concerns, and even positive feedback immediately. And by immediately, I mean within an hour! If you don’t generate a response quickly enough, that may be a lost follower forever.
4) If the issue requires tech support or help from a separate department within your company, respond within the hour to tell them that you are sorry for the frustration, the issue is being addressed and you will respond with an answer/solution within the next three hours. (And follow up with that guarantee.)
It’s probably a good idea to have some simple responses to questions that tend to pop up regularly on your fan pages and Twitter feeds, but know that you can’t plan the day to day. Just be confident in your brand and remember that these fans/followers trust your social media involvement as a part of your customer service initiatives.
What brands do you think utilize social media for customer service best?
Southwest Airlines understands Twitter. They don’t just promote, but engage with customers and help solve problems.
http://twitter.com/SOUTHWESTAIR
Chris Bauer´s last blog ..The best equalizer settings
Chris, I couldn’t agree more. Southwest is a prime example that we direct our clients to as an example when learning how to best use these tools. Thanks for your feedback.
Host Gator(http://twitter.com/hostgator) uses Twitter very well too … they responded to my tweets promptly and in one case they even had some one from the support center call me back … It really does help me that they keep tweeting relevant information about their services and uptime
Jack´s last blog ..SnowLemmings
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