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Guidelines for Positive Social Media Customer Interactions

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March 27, 2017

Guidelines for Positive Social Media Customer Interactions

By Laura Stotler, TMCnet Contributing Editor

Complaints on social media can spell disaster for any business. Customers put a great deal of stock into online reviews, mentions and ratings, and a negative review or complaint can quickly drive prospective customers to a competitor. Thankfully, social media also provides the channels and opportunities to turn a complaint into a positive customer interaction, benefiting businesses, customers and future prospects while resolving potential issues.


According to a recent infographic from customer service support specialists Provide Support, a semi-formal interaction on social media is likely

to increase a customer’s spend by anywhere from 20 to 40 percent. That’s pretty significant, which is why social media is steadily becoming a major factor in business marketing and customer interaction strategies. At the same time, a public complaint can escalate quickly if left unchecked, which is why businesses need to be quick and savvy, turning social media complaints into positive customer interactions.

Provide Support finds that a whopping $41 billion is lost each year by U.S. companies due to poor customer service. And while 80 percent of companies believe they offer superior customer service, only 8 percent of customers feel the same way. Even so, customers who receive a positive response via social media are not only likely to spend more money with a company, but 48 percent of them will share their positive experience on social media.

Clearly, businesses need to harness the social media opportunity and head off complaints before they become problematic. Provide Support offers 10 steps to providing superior customer care and support on social media, beginning with always responding to customers. All comments must be taken seriously, and businesses would do well to reply in a polite tone. Amazingly, 70 percent of customer complaints go unanswered on Twitter (News - Alert), pushing customers away – the opposite of engagement. Businesses can prioritize social media messages by using the tag feature on Sprout Social, helping them to save time and prioritize issues appropriately.

Businesses would do well to respond to social media messages within an hour. Social media is fast paced, and customers respect a timely response; so, at a minimum, companies should acknowledge the message and assure customers they are looking into it. Another simple way to engage on social media is to address customers by name and use your own name in responding, adding a personalized touch to the interaction. Social media agents can also retweet or share positive responses and resolved issues, promoting a positive image among their entire customer base. At the other end of the spectrum, they can take messages private when things become sensitive, minimizing negative exposure while still addressing individual customer issues and concerns.

Other important guidelines for social media customer interaction include monitoring brand names and responding even if a business or brand is not mentioned directly. There are plenty of social media tools to aid in this endeavor, and it’s a great and proactive way to remain active on social media. Businesses can also look for opportunities to follow up with articles and FAQs based on popular queries and concerns, taking a proactive approach to customer service and resolution. Social media agents should most definitely avoid engaging with trolls, who should be easy to spot and ignore. Finally, social media impact can be measured using tools and analytics like Sprout (News - Alert) Social, which can track engagement rates and response times.

By having a solid social media strategy in place, businesses can take advantage of its myriad benefits while addressing and heading off complaints before they negatively impact businesses and their brands.




Edited by Alicia Young
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