Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
Should Call Center Scheduling Include Dedicated Social Media?
It’s fascinating how much social media has become a part of our everyday lives. We no longer use it merely for entertainment; it’s a way to stay connected with friends and family across the miles; update business contacts about the latest innovation we plan to bring to market; and notify a service provider that they are falling short on expectations. Given this trend, will it affect call center scheduling?
If the activity taking place was simply individuals talking about their favorite brands, it would be as easy as the marketing department assigning an individual to social media monitoring and getting in on the conversations where appropriate. Hopefully this is already happening. But when the requests start coming in that need to be handled by the contact center, it’s a whole new ballgame and the focus does have to shift.
Case in point – I use GoDaddy for a lot of different assets. If I have a problem with GoDaddy, my first inclination was to place a call to their toll-free number. As you might suspect, that call is generally met with a long wait time and like you, I don’t have time to sit and wait for someone to take my call. On the flip side, I need my problem resolved quickly. If I take to Twitter (News - Alert) with my problem and get an instant response, I know the company is paying attention and resolving my issue. As a result, I now use Twitter as my first point of contact.
The same is true for a number of consumers and businesses in the market. We’ve come to expect immediate responses – something texting and social media has taught us. We expect people to be waiting on the other end of the line at all times to respond to what we need, when we need it. Any delay in response affects how we feel about the situation. This emotional response forms the customer experience and you do have the opportunity to impact that experience.
That immediate response expectation can greatly impact your call center scheduling as social media will demand constant attention. A recent Businss2Community piece highlighted this importance, especially on Twitter. For instance, there are consequences to social posts on Twitter that go unanswered. Word of mouth recommendations plummet and as many as 81 percent of consumers refuse to recommend a brand to their friends and family that they perceive as inhospitable, according to Twitter.
To boost the customer experience on this channel, you must have a dedicated agent (or more) and be ready for immediate responses that satisfy the customer. For good measure, follows the rules set out in Hug Your Customers by Jack Mitchell. That means you make them feel welcome, you get to know them, keep track of your interactions and build relationships. The concepts are simple and they apply to today’s social media.
If you hope to appeal to your customer base in a way that can impact your bottom line, your call center scheduling plans have to include coverage for a dedicated social media professional. In doing so, you’ll soon reap the benefits of creating the quality customer experience.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi