Social Customer Service Nurtures Interaction

The old face of customer service: “Your call is very important to us.”

Ten years ago, most business owners didn’t realize they needed a website; almost all have one now. Five years ago, most business owners didn’t understand the value of engaging, targeted website content; the very existence of Ray Access proves that many now get it. Two years ago, most business owners avoided the murky waters of social media; today, many still don’t understand the power it holds for businesses.

Many small to medium-sized businesses view social media, when they view it at all, as a wasteland of Likes. One million Likes, they figure, won’t even buy a cup of coffee in the real world. These businesses may acknowledge that social media can raise brand awareness — after all, a million Likes means that a million people have at least heard of you — but social media campaigns rarely pay for themselves, let alone offer a return on the investment.

Social Media Has Changed

That was then; this is now. Social media is evolving into a forum for business — not just business awareness, but business transactions. Social media is a very public platform where one viral mistake can literally cost millions of dollars… and one viral home run can make millions of dollars.

Today, a whopping 75 percent of the American adult population spends time on social media. And that percentage is growing every year. To give you some perspective, only eight percent of American adults accessed social media sites just 10 years ago. One way that businesses can take advantage of this growing exposure on social media is to reach out to engage its customers.

Social Customer Service

The phrase “social customer service” simply refers to customer service — appeasing complaints, answering questions and solving problems — performed on social media platforms. Every successful business understands why good customer service is crucial to the customer experience. According to the Harvard Business Review, people who have a positive customer service experience are about three times more likely to recommend that business.

The new face of customer service: responsive and timely, even from a cell phone.

Social customer service, then, allows a business to publicly solve problems, which can generate some amazing trust and good will toward that business. Of course, the opposite is true too: a bad customer service experience in a social media context can turn into a nightmare scenario. So the trick to going social with your customer service is to maximize the good results and minimize the bad.

The Nature of Social Media

Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter and all the other social media platforms provide instant gratification to users. Everything is fresh and immediate. That structure has pluses and minuses, and you can use both to your advantage. Here’s how:

• Highlighting the good: The ultimate for businesses in social media is a spontaneous testimonial. If you get one of these gems, make sure people see it. Feature it. Keep it fresh by commenting on it, sharing it and re-using it. Make sure your responses are honest and humble.
• Burying the bad: If you get a complaint, the best response is to try to turn it into a good experience. Offer to make it right whenever possible, and do it promptly. If you can convert a complainer into an evangelist for your company, that’s a big win. Otherwise, leave the comment alone. It will sink under the weight of other positive posts, by you and your fans, rarely to be seen again.

Interact Honestly

If you want to master social customer service, the first step is to gain a foothold in the social media space. Gain brand awareness. Then use your position to engage your customers and other fans. It’s not a platform for selling, but you can drive more traffic to your website, where the selling happens. Social customer service puts your customers in a good frame of mind to buy from you. All you have to do is play nice.

Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.