Providing great customer service can require extra attention and special handling. Giving a response is a sensitive issue; agents should respond on a timely basis, and this response should be accurate and brief. Social care is a form of care that encompasses the social, psychological, and emotional needs of an individual. In this guide, we'll explore some best practices for delivering great customer service via social media, including when to post, what to say, and how to respond.
Agent Responsibility:
Agents should respond quickly to questions or problems that customers bring to their attention, but not so quickly that the issue is not appropriately resolved. Agents must use their customer service skills to determine when informal expressions such as smiley faces or emojis are suitable for conveying friendliness, and willingness to help, agents must determine when a more formal statement of empathy or apology might be appropriate before addressing an issue.
The issue of length is an important one. Can the issue be resolved publicly, within the limited space of a comment or tweet? Are agents trained in, or capable of, drafting customized replies without errors? Some large companies have reported success using seasoned customer service agents trained specifically for social media.
Social work should be taken seriously:
Social work is a profession that deserves to be taken seriously. Social care is a vital part of society that should not be overlooked. Some companies find it difficult to determine where to focus their social media customer service efforts.
Social media marketing can drive traffic to a company's social media sites, but customer service teams should meet their customers where they're already socializing. To find out where your audience is, search for mentions of your brand on popular social sites.
How To Respond:
When responding to a customer's issue, agents must determine when it is appropriate to use emoticons or informal language, and when more formal statements are required.
Excellent customer service applies to social media in the same way that it applies to any other channel. An excellent response would be:
• First identify the issue in the correct way.
• Refer to the additional links for more information.
• It is important to follow up with a "thank you" or other acknowledgment.
• Ensure that the tone and response time of your organization are consistent and in line with your overall brand.
Training:
Cross-training enables employees to learn from one another and uphold the integrity of your brand's message and mission. According to Gartner, four times as many contacts can be handled by social media agents when they are trained in response to comments, questions, and complaints than by phone. An excellent social care program also contributes to your company's Net Promoter Score (NPS), which measures how likely customers are to recommend you to others.
By monitoring your company's social media pages on a regular basis and engaging with customers, you can improve your customer service efforts and increase the number of social media followers.