In the digital age we live in, people expect businesses to have an active social media presence. This also means having a presence that will help satisfy your customers’ needs with real-time responses. If you’re not using social media to assist with your customer service needs, or if you’re looking to improve your social presence, here are 5 tips to get you off the ground.
1. Answer customer questions and concerns in a timely manner
We live in a society where people desire quick responses to their questions and concerns that they feel are urgent. It’s imperative to check your social networks on a daily basis to monitor and respond to questions and/or complaints. Responding quickly and conspicuously goes a long way when it comes to making people feel valued. The more time it takes you to respond, the more agitated the customer will feel and take their concerns to a new level – write negative reviews.
2. Be Pre-emptive
The pressure of dealing with a customer complaint on social media should be felt by all staff and the wider organization. In this sense, every team member and department needs to be ‘on-call’ to help resolve customer queries. It’s equally important to note that your organization should be proactive in resolving complaints on the local level before they escalate.
3. Create a system of checks and balances
Monitor all customer interactions, both resolved and unresolved, and have one person in the company review how they played out. Did the team do everything it could to help that customer and win them over as a fan? If you find that it is hard to be impartial, consider hiring a reputation management company to review your current practices and suggest ways to enhance brand image.
4. Listen Up!
Be sure to not only listen for customers’ compliments, but also keep your ears tuned in to hear their concerns and questions. With the help of social media monitoring tools, such as Buffer and HootSuite, customer service can hear what consumers are asking, provide timely responses, and determine early warning signs of PR and other issues.
5. Be Helpful & Follow Up
It’s important to offer assistance, rather than just copying and pasting phone numbers and email addresses. As well, you should be contacting the customer as a following up to you have helped them. It doesn’t take long to send a quick message asking if they are happy with the steps you’ve taken to address the issue or if they need further assistance from you. It shows that your business cares about individual customers, and in turn, can benefit the brand image.
About iRISEmedia:
iRISEmedia.com is a web design, social media marketing, and search engine marketing (SEM) firm in Toronto, Canada. Our team helps clients increase their reach and profitability by developing and implementing customized and targeted online and social media marketing strategies. We service clients in Toronto, Ontario, the GTA and throughout Canada as well as globally.
