Secrets to Delivering the Best Customer Service on Social Media
October 03, 2018 (0 comments)
Let’s face it, the lifeblood of any retail business depends on the happiness of your customers. Now, with most customers seeking support online it’s important to provide the same impeccable customer service on the web just as you would in-store. Here are a few social media customer service fundamentals you shouldn’t ignore:
Make Sure to Respond to all Messages, Mentions and Comments.
We know what you’re thinking, no one has the time or desire to check their social media channels all day long. Luckily, there are various social media listening tools like Sprout Social that will help you aggregate all direct messages, mentions and comments into one dashboard. You can set notifications and even receive daily reports of all incoming messages by email. Most social media users expect a response within one hour so it’s important to respond as quickly as possible.
Put Your Best Foot Forward
It’s never fun when a customer leaves a negative comment or complaint on your page, but you will have to deal with it and we hope it will be with a dash of grace. You’ll want to start by addressing the customer by their first name and keeping your response as short and easy to read as possible (with a few emojis thrown in). Overall, be positive and try to solve the issue at hand as quickly and efficiently as possible. This takes us to our next tip.
Know When to Take it Offline
Some questions simply cannot be handled online. You’ll want to make sure to respond to the customer’s comment or message by acknowledging their concern and providing them with a phone number or email address that they can contact for further assistance.
Turn Your Followers Into Your Brand Ambassadors
Show your customers some love by re-posting their purchase photos and testimonials (with their permission) on your store’s pages. Not only will they be excited to see themselves on your feed but they’ll most probably share your post with friends and family, broadening your reach. By sharing your customer’s stories you turn your following into a community.
Reward Your Social Network with Exclusive Discounts and Exclusives
Create special promotions and discounts that you only promote on social media helps increase your customers’ loyalty and also gives an incentive for your customers to follow and engage with your store on social media. Some brands also find success with providing in-store customers with a free gift or coupon code for a review on Yelp or a page like Facebook.
These are just a few ideas to get you started on your journey to perfecting customer service on social media. For additional tips we recommend reading Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh and Never Eat Alone, Expanded and Updated: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi.
