The New Wave of Customer Service Techniques – Social Media
Businesses are making it easier for customers to stay connected through social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, and blogging sites. Not only do these sites provide news and updates, customers are also voicing their opinions and complaints. Gone are the days of complaining solely to a friend or neighbor – now all consumers can read about customer experiences, good and bad.
In some ways, company reputations are now in the hands of the consumers. This can both help and hurt a business. Using these same social media outlets to solve problems is the new wave of customer service. It’s quick, effective, and implements media that the customer is already familiar with. Here are a few things to keep in mind when beginning to use these outlets for customer service.
Provide a few different ways of connecting to your customer service center. Some customers prefer the new social media outlets, while others are more traditional and prefer a phone or fax number, or even a mailing address.
Take note of any negative mentions on Twitter or Facebook and answer them as soon as possible. Don’t be afraid to answer them publicly. Negative mentions can be bad press, but answering them publicly can help other customers with the same concerns and show that your customer service department is on top of assisting.
Link other helpful sites and articles in your response if needed. Using third-party sites and helpful information not connected to your site is simple for both you and your customer and shows that your department has done their research.
Make your customer service contacts easy to access on your site. Try putting their contact information in the “About” section or create a separate page for getting in directly touch with the right people about certain issues. Think like a customer – the fewer circuits to cut through to get to the correct department, the better.
