Social media still manages to be a buzz word. Most of the
business world was of the belief that the value of social media in business
will soon reach its saturation point. But it continues to surprise businesses
both small and big in the way one can approach customers, marketing and
customer service. Now grasping the above ideas isn’t that difficult. Also,
knowing that you need to be on social media isn’t going to win you any brownie
points from your customers. But not being smart and maximizing your ability to
give your customers great customer service on social media, can be an
opportunity lost.
Studies say that customers who engage with companies via
social media spend 20 to 40 percent more money with those companies than customers
who don’t engage through social media. This should give companies enough
impetus to provide great customer service on social media. The problem many see
with social media is that neither is it face to face and nor are you talking to
anyone on the phone. It’s a faceless conversation but social media has proven
to be a great outlet for customers. People tend to interact more openly and
freely online. This stemming from a certain anonymity coupled with a huge
audience ready to listen and react. Customers expect companies to be more
proactive on social media and this presents companies with a great opportunity
to reach out and take action before the customer decides to. Being active by
tweeting or replying to queries on your company’s Facebook wall instantly can
be a great turn on for customers. It shows that you care and you are there. You
can instantly put customers at ease as social media by nature is an informal
environment. You can reach out to them faster by openly asking your customer
base if they have any problems and then attack each issue head on. It’s not
enough to be posting views on your brand and its marketing efforts; you also
need to be able to reach out on issues that matter to a customer. And that is
something you cannot do as easily from a physical outlet or through you call
center.
Social media allows you to socialize with your customer.
Chat them up, understand them and react. Being available on social media to
address concerns makes you static and boring. It doesn’t help your brand point
out any difference between your other customer service channels. Customers
expect to be treated a certain way on social media and the foundation lies in
the fact, that you got to reach out to them, talk their lingo and solve their
problems just as you would do elsewhere. That is when the brownie points will
start piling up like never before.