10 Steps To Social Customer Service Success [Infographic]

This new infographic from social media insights and engagement platform, Sentiment, has identified 10 Steps to Brilliant Social Customer Service. It shows that quality customer service on social channels is achievable for most big brands, provided they put the appropriate resources and processes in place.

Of course, many brands will respond to that by saying that they don’t have the appropriate resources as it’s not a priority. But, when you look at the statistics, how can they afford not to?

• 70% of companies believe it’s cheaper to retain a customer than acquire a new one.
• 71% of users who experience positive social customer care are likely to recommend that brand to others.
• Customers will spend 21% more if they receive good customer service via social media.
• 40% of unresolved complaints through social media result in phone calls.

Some brands are starting to catch on (over 30% of ‘top brands’ now have a Twitter account dedicated to Customer Services), but the results are still disappointing. Only 36% of consumers who make customer service enquiries via social media report having their problems solved quickly and effectively.

Whilst some of the points above may seem obvious, there are a few that I’d like to highlight:

Selecting the right tools

There are hundreds of social media monitoring tools and dashboards out there, but very few of them have been designed specifically for customer service. For a better idea of what features to look for, you may want to check out this post on ‘How to Choose the Right Social Customer Service Tool’.

Empower your staff

This is often the difference between good customer service and great customer service. The staff on the frontline need the power to act there and then if they are to ‘wow’ the customer – not wait for signoff from above on every decision they make. Even if they don’t make the right decision every time, they need to know that they will be supported.

Gain customer insights

I’m always amazed by the number of companies that collect data from social media, but fail to do anything with it. It offers a unique insight into your customers and can identify trends that simply aren’t visible through day-to-day interactions.

You can download Our Social Times’ 18-page whitepaper on Social Media Monitoring for Customer Service.