One-third of the consumers prefer using social networking sites for getting in touch with a brand, as per Nielsen Holdings N.V. This shows that importance of this medium to support the customers is growing in a subtle manner.
Support through social networking websites is not limited only to online stores. Even consumers of offline businesses are increasingly using this medium to clarify their issues. It has become a key differentiator to choose the finest brand in the market from the available options. Therefore, agents must effectively respond their customers to attain their loyalty towards the brand.
Several firms ignore the importance of planning related to social media customer support while working on marketing and customer experience campaigns. But inclusion of social media customer support in your marketing plan can turn you into Yoda of your respective industry.
Here are some essential social media tips to handle customer support which gives you edge over your competitors.
Tip #1: Write your name at the end
Even if you are responding from company’s profile page, it is a right practice to include your name (agent’s name) at the end of the response. This will assure your customers that they are talking to someone who cares and not just random representative on behalf of the company. The agent can introduce himself through a specific post on Facebook or Twitter whenever he begins responding to the queries.
Tip #2: Do not ask the customers to use another mode
I have seen several times that some companies give toll free numbers or email IDs of customer support as a part of response to customer’s query or complaint. This is extremely wrong practice and should be avoided at any cost.
Tip #3: Use reference links wherever possible
This technique is more useful for channels like Twitter where number of characters is limited. You can use ‘URL Shortener’ to minimize the size of reference links for helping the customers in resolving the issue. Also, if query is general, do not use Direct Message (DM) for responding.
Tip #4: Give them the exact date
If customer comes to you with an issue and you are unable to resolve it on the spot, give them a date until which the issue will be resolved. This will prevent them from posting the query repeatedly on company’s profile and will give an assurance that you are working seriously on the issue.
Tip #5: Avoid using scripted answers
There is no use of having a customer support team if most of the answers are based on a script handed to the agents. Use as much variation as possible in the responses which maintains a trust factor among users who read customer queries on the company’s page.
Tip #6: Monitor every channel
Normally, the companies focus mainly on popular social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter as complaints are prevalent on these sites in most of the cases. But it doesn’t mean that you can ignore other modes of customer communication. A frustrated customer can put the query on any social networking website and a furious one usually posts on more than one website. So, ignoring other channels where you are not active can be disastrous to the brand’s image.
Tip #7: Clearly state your hours of operation
In case you are not active round the clock on social networking sites for handling the queries, make sure that you post your hours of operation. This will ensure that the customers especially the busy ones don’t get frustrated for not getting response immediately.
Tip #8: Have a separate account for resolving issues
Normally, the brands use the same account for posting organic content and responding to the queries. But it is a nice practice to have a separate account which is dedicated to clear the doubts of customer and resolve their issues. You can put the information of this account on the official Facebook or Twitter page of your brand.
Tip #9: Complement the customers for their questions
You can complement your consumers whenever they post a query by phrases like ‘Great question’ or ‘Interesting question.’ This will be a first step in enhancing the satisfaction level and make the customers feel connected to the brand.
Tip #10: Reply out of scope questions with same excitement
You may have come across situations in which customers ask you out of scope questions which do not match your vertical. For example, a customer may ask you “Which movie should I watch today?” even if you are handling customer support for telecom operator. Yes, it does happens several times if you are handling a brand’s page.
In these cases, do not ignore the message or reply “Sorry Sir/madam, we do not handle these form of queries.”
Instead, answer them in a casual manner with the most appropriate solution to their question. The customers will definitely appreciate this gesture.
Tip #11: Ask for details like email and address on personal message
Customers will never appreciate disclosing their address and email etc. openly on social media. Therefore, it is essential to ask customers to post these personal details on ‘DM’ of Twitter or ‘Message’ option of the Facebook.
Tip #12: Respond quickly
Customers do not like to wait for a response from company’s end on social networking channels. Make sure that the response from your side is made in less than 1/2 hour. This active response will definitely establish you as a brand which is concerned about its customers.
Tip #13: Encourage suggestions
Several customers have some useful and interesting ideas related to your product/service. And Customers love when their voice is heard by the brand. Therefore, show full enthusiasm while replying to suggestions offered by your customers. You can even post on your profile description saying “We welcome incredible suggestions.”
Tip #14: Learn from the reputed brands
Good thing about transparency of social media customer support is that you can take lessons from other key players in the market. It is not necessary to learn about customer support by checking only the accounts of your competitors or people of your domain. You can even learn valuable things about customer support carefully analyzing account of big players from different domains like retail, mobile companies, food chains and telecom service providers etc.
Conclusion
Each tip discussed in the above section has the potential to turn you into a renowned brand that offers finest form of social media support. Therefore, do not forget to implement every technique in your customer support process.
