Is social media a part of your customer experience solution?

September 20, 2017

As we move into 2018, the world of business has finally come to realise the true potential of social media to provide effective customer experience. Today’s consumers are spoiled for choice. They want the whole package, they want to be treated like royalty.

Companies must focus on not only selling products or services but also experiences.

A Harvard Business Review survey states that successful customer experiences are anchored on social media. 75% of respondents say that by 2020, this platform will be ‘extremely important’, rising from 42% in 2017. The delivery of customer services via social media has become self-evident in the last 5 years.

Studies have time and again proved that dissatisfied customers prefer to “go social” and drop a Facebook comment or tweet about their sour experience rather than calling up the customer care office or emailing. Instant action or support is an integral part of customer experiences.

The worst part is 88% of consumers are less likely to purchase from a company that leaves questions on social media unanswered. This means if you don’t keep up with queries and complaints on social platforms, you need to rethink your strategy.

1) Be where you are customers are

95% of consumers talk about their poor customer experience on social media. Hence it is crucial for you to determine channels on which you receive maximum brickbats. For most companies, Facebook and Twitter are primary platforms. So focus on establishing your presence there with relevant content and conversations.

2) Listen to your customers

Pay attention to the comments written in frustration, technical or account-specific queries, positive feedback, and so. Organisations that take time to listen to customer sentiments are able to identify areas to improve and also better respond to customer complaints and requests.

3) Prioritise responses

You should strive to give a timely response to the customers because it determines your brand’s reputation. 65% of customers feel agitated if their complaints take too long to get resolved. In fact, 42% of consumers complaining on social media expect a response in under 60 minutes.

Therefore, track and manage the volume of queries received on social media. Account-specific questions, urgent product requests and issues that may convert into a potential PR crisis should be flagged “high priority”, whereas general product-related questions or positive feedbacks can be dealt with later but never ignored.

Conclusion

Companies that integrate customer experience with social media are able to achieve stronger and more dominant positions in the market.

When social media is such an evident choice of communication for customers, it is vitally important that the infrastructure to facilitate this interaction is in place sooner rather than later.