When it comes to customer service, consistency is important, especially across multiple channels. It sounds easy enough, yet companies struggle with consistency on a daily basis. Customers today are more apt to utilize many channels to communicate so putting every effort into a single channel can result in lost business. The key is to provide an exceptional level of service for both social CRM and mobile care, which creates a challenge of its own.
Supporting social CRM and mobile care is the key to customer retention. According to this CRM Buyer report, companies need to expand their service options to include not only mobile but phone, e-mail and chat, keeping pace with consumer trends. Customers may not switch to and from their preferred channels, but they will definitely share their experiences. Feedback can have significant impact, both negative and positive.
Many users will rightfully take every advantage to leverage the unique capabilities those channels offer. If they get a fast and effective response, they are likely to share that information and it may be with someone on a different channel. The consumer finding the response they want on Facebook (News - Alert) may share it with their Twitter followers.
This is just one reason to have more than one effective channel. Consistency has to exist across all channels, allowing for the same experience regardless of the interaction point. A positive social CRM and mobile care experience relies on access to the same information and capabilities whether it’s phone, e-mail, SMS or chat.
To deliver that level of consistency, businesses should consider strengthening their entire service operation. And no channel can be left untouched. The organization that puts all efforts into voice and e-mail communications but ignores the social media channels leaves opportunities on the table for the competition to improve the experience.
There are a few reasons why social media platforms are more attractive to customers than e-mail or telephone. For the most part, social media can bypass the time consuming requests made through other channels, while taking the conversation public. This quickly eliminates the need to procrastinate within the organization. From the marketing department to public relations and sales staff, the need to resolve a customer’s problem will be expedited.
The service media channel really opens the doors to faster resolution. This creates a great shift in service requests no matter the channel. This can be done regardless of broken service processes. Plus, when an issue is quickly resolved, those social circles have an opportunity to witness the response and view comments from happy customers.
At the end of the day, customers want quick resolutions. A competent and consistent social CRM and mobile care solution enables a quick, yet consistent resolution. Now, customers can access a business from any mobile device any time and find the answers they want. The social media format has given customers more than just the idea of better service and resolution; it conditions them to expect it.
Edited by Rich Steeves