How the Joint Efforts of Customer Service and Social Media Bring About Success
Marketers know that learning to work with other departments has always been a challenge. In the past, the marketing department has always had difficulty with communicating and working together with the IT department. Now, the marketing team, and especially the social media department have a new challenge, and that is working with the customer service department to ensure that an excellent customer experience is delivered to each customer. This article will explain the benefits of the customer service and social media departments working together and we will list tips on how this synergy can lead to success.
If the proper level of customer service is not delivered, then chances are the social media team is going to hear about it. Consumers know that they can leverage social media and complain in this public and social platform, they can quickly get the attention and often resolve a problem that could have been avoided had customer service been properly executed in the first place. Take Comcast Cable’s Xfinity brand, for example. They have such a bad reputation with customer service, and it seems as though customers cannot even get through on their phone lines, so this is what their Xfinity Facebook page looks like:
They post about football, and customers comment complaining about their customer service:
They post about Thanksgiving and customers seem to have a bad taste in their mouth filled with dissatisfaction:
They post about the weather and The Weather Channel, and the only forecast is negativity from customers:
Of course, this is an extreme example. Your company probably (and hopefully) does not have this type of negative reputations and this large of a problem. Your company also probably does not have a monopoly on the market for cable where the choices are slim and customer service problems run rampant throughout the industry. There are two solutions to this problem: (1) all departments should be trained in customer service and (2) the social media team and customer service team must work together to respond to and resolve problems and complaints posted by customers.
Customer Service Training in All Departments
Many companies make the mistake of only putting their “customer service department” employees through customer service training. In reality, every employee from the owners and top management down to the janitorial staff should be trained in customer service. Further, each employee should understand that delivering an excellent customer experience is their #1 goal. If sales, bill collecting, or anything else is a priority for an employee, then they are not properly motivated to execute the proper amount of customer service. Management should not only train, but also empower all employees to resolve problems for customers. This is because customers’ level of satisfaction decreases when it takes more than one employee to resolve a situation.
Responding to Complaints and Comments on Social Media
Even companies with the highest level of customer service can’t please all the people all the time, so the key is to be prepared and know how to respond to negative comments or complaints on social media sites. Here are some of the best practices for addressing and resolving customer complaints on social media channels:
Respond as fast as possible. You should have alerts set up through social channels, tools, or programs that are available to alert you immediately when someone posts on your social channels or mentions you on social media. Many consumers expect an answer or response the same day, even if it is after regular business hours.
When you respond, be sure to let the customer know that you want to resolve the problem to their satisfaction.
Apologize for the problem. This can be done without admitting any wrongdoing. In many cases good customer service comes through showing empathy. These first 3 steps can greatly reduce a customer’s anger and anxiety and help you to resolve the problem more easily.
Always stay professional and do not respond at a time when you feel angry or offended by the complaint. Take the emotion out of your response and ask a co-worker or a supervisor to assist you in crafting an email in a complete and efficient manner.
Respond once and then take the conversation offline. Ask them to message you their contact information so that you can look at their account information to look into it. Once you speak to them or email them offline, then return to the post and comment thanking them for bringing it to your attention and express content that you were able to resolve the situation.
Remember that much of what happens in social media and with consumer complaints is how other potential consumers perceive your handling of the situation. Many customers just want to know that the company is there and is willing to answer and attempt to resolve problems. Much of the specifics or details are unimportant to other customers. Of course, resolving the problem expertly, efficiently, and quickly is of the utmost importance with the one customer who is having the problem.
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