You may consider social media to be a marketing tool, but what about using social media for customer service (CX)? Most businesses have social media profiles. This fact, in and of itself, dictates that you’ll need to use that platform for customer service. This is what people have come to expect and even prefer—more than 50% of customers opt to use social messaging channels over phone or email. Pay attention to the trends in social media customer service to keep your business, and the people using it, happy.

Social Media CX Pays Off

The good news is that embracing social media CX is beneficial to everyone involved. Engaging with customers over social media allows for quick responses, which leads to quick resolutions, which result in immediate gratification. The goal should be customers who use social media not just to complain about your company, but also to compliment your services. This can be achieved through excellent CX, facilitated at least in part through social media channels. Your reward? Conversions! Sprout Social research shows that answering a customer’s question on social media will lead to a purchase 49% of the time.

Respond in a Timely Manner

When a customer reaches out to you on social media, they expect a response. In fact, 42% of people expect a response within the hour. A lag in response time or a poor response can result in lost business. Ignore a customer completely and 30% of them are more likely to look to a competitor to fill their needs. The worst-case scenario has a frustrated customer taking their complaint about your poor customer service to the masses via social media.

Stats

Let’s talk numbers.

• A customer issue solved through social costs 6x less than one solved through a call centre
• 31% of people post online following a negative customer care experience
• Good social customer care experiences result in 92% customer retention
• 67% of consumers have tapped social media for their customer service needs
• 80% of consumers use social to engage with brands
• Customers reach brands across an average of seven social media channels
• Customers that receive a response from brands on Twitter are willing to spend up to 20% more

You’re Not Alone

If adding another layer to your customer service model seems daunting, don’t panic. Some platforms use chatbots to help you monitor channels and give responses. Bots can be called into action with  24/7 availability to help answer simple questions and act as front-line responders to customer queries. Even if the question needs a human answer, a chatbot can at least give some kind of response immediately so the customer doesn’t feel ignored.

Social media can be managed to great extent by CMS like Hootsuite, Buffer, and Sparkcentral. The whole point of a CMS is the creation and management of digital content. This function naturally lends itself to the kind of data collection that can positively affect CX. Look at CMS data to see how customers are using your brand, find out their preferences, and then create personalized connections.

CX Tip: When responding to customers on social media, use names. That means using their name and using your name. This makes the interaction feel more personal and it signals that as a business you’re taking responsibility for the interaction.

Be Proactive

When using social media for customer service, be proactive. Here are a few ways you can reach out to your customers and start a conversation:

• Use a hashtag. This can help customers find the conversations they’re looking for, and help you organize your channels.
• Listen up.  What’s the buzz on your brand? Identify the social media channels your customers use and join their conversations. Your customers will feel heard and you’ll pick up some good feedback.
• Take it offline. Move a customer conversation to a private channel if necessary. Enable the customer to do this by providing a DM link, phone number or email.
• Be helpful. Social media can be used for more than complaints and marketing. Make announcements about holiday hours, service interruption or any other info that can help a customer.

Follow Us

Social media is a business tool. Using it to communicate with your customers can lead to a better user experience, which is equated with good customer service. Get online with your customers and start a conversation today. And don’t forget to follow Key West Video on social media 😃