4 Tips to Improve Social Customer Service

Social customer service is often forgotten and not considered a high priority, however in today’s social media world its more important than you may think. With the rise of smartphone users and the increase in social media interaction it is definitely a factor that needs to be considered and treated with care. Although there are many businesses that do deal with social customer care we find that often enough they are not approaching it in a fulfilling or efficient way.
More and more people are turning to social media to get advice and quick answers and if you are not treating social customer care as one of your priorities you risk losing loyal customers to your competitors who already have social customer care in place. Below our social media niche experts have outlined 4 tips on improving your social customer service.

Don’t Ignore and be Responsive

It is so common for businesses to ignore comments and queries from customers on their social media platforms, and whilst sometimes the query may be something short or obvious it is in your interest to respond in an appropriate timely manner. In today’s technology world people are glued to their smartphones and like anything else people expect a response and most likely an immediate one. There is nothing more infuriating than asking a question and not getting a response to it.
Social customer service is very different than customer service in the fact that if you are being asked a question through social media you need to take into consideration that not only do you see this question but so does the rest of the world. So if you do not respond or do not respond in a timely manner your followers can see that and for obvious reasons this is not good for your business or brand. Whether it be a question or a general comment on your social media channels it is good practice to write a response, not only does it show your followers that you are responsive it shows that you have read and care about what they are saying.
Knowing that a company is responsive is important to customers. One example is Facebook who display a badge highlighting how responsive a company is. It is rated as a percentage and anything over 90% responsive is displayed as ‘very responsive’. So if you have a Facebook company page be sure to be responsive otherwise this can turn potential customers away from you.
Go Above and Beyond

Social customer service is not all about finding a solution to their issue or query, it is also about defining you and your brand. Social media is a great tool for selling yourself and showing potential customers who you are and what you are about. Through social customer service you can highlight this and bring to the surface what your brand is about.
Providing a solution to a customers query is ultimately what they are looking for but there is no harm offering further suggestions and advice that may be of benefit to them. This type of approach can be well respected by the customer and often enough you will find it is truly appreciated. However with that being said, it is important to note that you should handle this approach with care and ensure that you do not come across as overly pushy and pressurising.
Take Advantage of Multmedia

Social media has evolved massively over the past 10 years and it has a heavy focus on multimedia. Social media channels include the ability to share emojis, images and videos which has become a huge feature. Images and videos are being shared on daily basis and often enough you will see that people use these features as a way of explaining things.
Giving your customers the opportunity to interact with customer service in the same way has huge benefits for both you and the customer. An example of this, is allowing customers to send a photo of the issue they are having, i.e. they may have a faulty product therefore it may be easier to send an image of the damage so that it is easier for them to explain and for you to diagnose what they should do. Thus shortening the interaction time and getting to the resolution quicker.
Invest in Chatbots

Chatbots have been around for a few years and initially businesses were wary of using them or being the first to use them. However, today, Chatbots are becoming a social media trend and are being utilised more so than ever.
Chatbots not only save time, money and resources but can also be a very useful feature for your business and brand. As already mentioned people like to be responded to in a timely fashion and they expect the same whether it is working hours or the weekend. With the use of Chatbots you have the ability to be available 24/7, after all issues do not just appear during working hours. Chatbots have advanced since they were first introduced and you now have the ability to personalise them to fall in line with your brand and personality. They can be personalised so that they are not so robot like and gives the user a unique experience as if they were speaking to a human.

Social media customer service is more important than ever and if not already doing it, it’s time to jump on the bandwagon or risk being left behind whilst your customers shop somewhere else they do get the support required. Hopefully after reading this article you will do some housekeeping and review your social media customer service, and ensure it is on the right track. If you are struggling to manage your social customer service get in contact today and one of our friendly skilled social media experts will be happy to help.