Optimizing Social media in the Call Center
May 02, 2014
By TMCnet Staff
If there’s such a thing as a frontier in customer service, it’s customer service by social media. Like the wild, wild west of the old days, social customer service is still open to pioneers that are willing to put a lot of effort into carving a niche. Since few companies have comprehensive social media customer support programs, and even fewer companies are doing it well, there is a great deal of opportunity. Unfortunately, this also means there’s a great deal of room for failure and error.
It’s not something any of us studied in business school. It’s not only an entirely new channel; it’s not even a single channel. Customer support via Twitter is vastly different from customer support via Facebook (News - Alert) or Instagram or any other medium. For this reason, companies building a social media support network need to reinvent the wheel with the rise of each new social media type. Successful case studies are rare, and what works for one company probably won’t work as effectively for another.
One thing we do know, however: the stakes are very high. Customers, especially younger customers, are expecting to have their customer service needs addressed via social media, and too many companies are approaching social media with an attitude of “What can we get out of this?” rather than “What do our customers need and want?” For starters, it’s critical to understand what social media support is, and what it’s not.
“[Social media customer support] allows you to get into a conversation with customers and engage them directly,” wrote Entrepreneur’s Alice Martin in a recent article. “Social media can provide a very powerful tool to surface those wants. When you truly listen to your customers, they will let you know what they want and how you can provide better service and products answering their needs.”
In other words, remember that social media customer programs shouldn’t exist for the convenience of the company, but the convenience of the customer. Another rookie mistake companies make is only responding to customers when there’s money to be made immediately, or to prevent losing a customer. According to Martin, it’s the companies that offer support when there’s nothing immediately in it for them, that succeed.
“Even if there's no immediate profit in it, continuing to support your loyal customers further builds that relationship,” she writes. “Make customers feel important and appreciated. Treat them as individuals. Always be courteous and grateful. Never let any communication go unanswered. Thank them every time you get a chance.”
Social media customer support is about far more than simply solving an urgent customer problem. It’s about building a brand and a reputation in a channel that’s likely to increase in importance going forward. By building a presence there in the “wild, wild west” now, you can gain a foothold over competitors that are still sitting on their thumbs, hoping in vain that social customer service will disappear.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson