Many companies talk about the fact that their company brand is on twitter and they service their clients on twitter. My question is how do they provide customer service, especially the smaller companies. With our company, twitter id, @midwestlabs I have accomplished the following tasks with respect to customer service using twitter.
- Opened Accounts – Had a conversation on twitter and asked them if they wanted to setup an account. Followed-up by sending a credit application via email.
- Serviced Accounts- I have received requests for supplies and sent them out
- Answering Questions – Often times, I am able to answer client questions.
In order to have success in these areas, you must be proactive and seek out opportunities to service potential clients and established clients. Here are some tips to help you get to a position of servicing requests on a regular basis on Twitter.
- Have a daily presence on twitter. If you are not on twitter everyday, how do people even know your company offers customer service.
- Make sure your branded company is associated with a company representative in the image, or bio. Making it personal with a company representative is important to being transparent
- Add your phone number or email to your twitter bio. People still like face-to-face and email for longer conversations.
- Make sure you are replying to other people’s tweets almost ( 3 times to 1 ) Shows people you are knowledgeable, accessible and personal on twitter.
- Make sure you check your mentions, direct messages daily. No question or comment is too small and people want to see how responsive you are on twitter.
- Make sure you are addressing questions on your website contact page too. People may be leaving detailed information on your website versus a 140- character question.
- Make sure you are searching twitter and replying to others on twitter. You should be checking htpp://search.twitter.com for key words pertinent to your business.
- Use Direct Messages to communicate directly and personally with a client. Use direct messages to share your email or phone number and move the conversation off of twitter.
- Look for #hashtags that are specific to your company. Hashtags can help direct the communication to a specific group of people or topic.
- Be Proactive with your client service. Do not be reactive, waiting for people to post poor remarks. Being more proactive will insure more positive comments than negative ones.
In order for customer service to be effective on Twitter, engagement and being proactive is the key. By being proactive, companies will be more in touch with their clients’ needs and will be in a position to serve their needs. In addition, if customer service is done in a timely manner, people will share that message with thousands on twitter. This is where the real benefits of customer service on twitter can be realized.
I know there are some other great tips out there pertaining to the subject of customer service on twitter. Please share. This list is just a start.
Picture | SteveGarfield