Customer Service on Social Media
With greater connectivity and more people engaging on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram. LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter, many businesses are using their presence to provide better customer experiences. However, some companies are lagging behind, ignoring customer queries, failing to engage and damaging their online reputation in the process. We’ve all seen the ‘ghost town’ company pages with unanswered comments and complaints—often because the page isn’t monitored or the business doesn’t know how to handle the feedback. Leaving customers to fester like this is a sure fire way to harm your brand.
Customer Service on Social Media – It’s Good to Talk
The way businesses communicate with customers has changed dramatically. Today, not only can your most valuable asset—your customers—contact you directly, but they can also share their experiences with their entire network. Positive or negative, their words can spread faster than ever thanks to social media.
If your business doesn’t respond, people will notice. Quickly, you’ll gain a reputation for not caring. A prime example of a company that understands the importance of prompt social media interaction is JetBlue Airways. When a customer complained on Twitter about a flight delay, the customer service team quickly responded, asking for the flight number so they could investigate. They followed up with a timely update, showing that they cared about the customer’s experience.
Things can and do go wrong in any business. The difference now is that disgruntled customers are far more likely to post a comment on Facebook or Twitter than pick up the phone to call customer service. If you don’t reply, it looks like you don’t care. Many larger companies now have dedicated social media accounts for customer service, ensuring they can respond swiftly and keep customers happy.
Starbucks goes one step further by running a separate account specifically for customers to suggest improvements for the company. This not only engages their audience but also shows that they value customer feedback.
Customers have high expectations when it comes to getting a response on social media. Nearly half of all customers expect a response within an hour. This could be anything from a product query to a complaint about poor service. Ignoring this expectation is a risk that brands take at their own peril.
What Bad Communication Does to Your Brand
It’s odd that many businesses understand the importance of communication but still fail to incorporate effective customer service on social media. This could be due to outdated practices or a lack of resources. Regardless of the reason, ignoring social media customer service is a mistake.
Take the example of British Airways, which came under fire when a customer used a paid-for tweet to complain about lost luggage. The message was seen by over 50,000 people before the company replied, explaining that their Twitter feed was only monitored during office hours. The customer, unimpressed, posted another angry tweet, which was retweeted by 50 people to their own followers, amplifying the negativity.
This kind of poor engagement is a reminder that bad communication on social media can have a snowball effect, reaching far more people than the original complaint. This is a problem that all businesses, whether large corporations or SMEs, need to address. On the flip side, good customer service on social media can build trust, foster loyalty and even increase sales as customers feel valued and heard.
Top Tip: Handling Negative Comments
Do NOT, under any circumstances, give in to the temptation of deleting negative comments or blocking users. Doing so will only inflame the situation, potentially turning a small issue into a major crisis. Worse, you’ll no longer have visibility over what that customer is saying about you. Instead, aim to resolve the issue in a calm, professional and helpful manner. By doing this, you demonstrate to both the disgruntled customer and your wider audience that you care about resolving problems and delivering great service.
