Hands up if you ever got upset with 0800 number. You did? Most of us did. A quick survey amongst my colleagues showed that 95% of Gorkana employees had an unpleasant experience with a call centre (40 people took part in the poll).
We don’t like to be put on hold, transferred from one person to another and, what’s more important, we don’t have time for this! So we turn to social – it’s quick, it’s simple and it’s effective. Well, at least it should be…
Telephone Is So Last Year(s)
Social media changes people. The more one uses Facebook, Twitter or other networking channels, the more one gets impatient and frustrated if things are not instant. Have a look at the results of this study. It only includes US data but I’m sure it’s relevant to other nations too.
We are spoilt by the internet and rather than see its potential as a blessing, it became a norm. We want answers and we want them now!
Are We There Yet?
According to Socialbakers’ recent study of customer service practices, on average companies respond to 30% of social media fans’ feedback. Further to this, more than 25% of global companies have a closed wall on Facebook. Maritz Research study for Marketing Week revealed that 85% of people who posted a comment about a brand online were never contacted by this organisation. It looks like not all of us got the ‘social’ in social media?
Brands should stop seeing social media as the enemy and start taking advantage of its potential to engage with consumers on a personal level. Many organisations have proved already that the right approach can win you an army of brand advocates.
Use the Tools
It is clear that no one wants to waste their time and energy being passed around a call centre. There are companies which decided to embrace this and, rather than see social as the massive pain in the backside, realised the potential and the opportunity.
KLM offers 24-hour service via social media. The company made a promise to reply to all posts/tweets within an hour and solve customer problems within 24 hours. On top of that KLM prides itself in personalised responses which offer the ‘human touch’ often lost in the corporate world.
One of the most common questions companies ask when launching an account on Twitter or Facebook is: ‘How many handles should we have?’. There is no simple answer and it all depends on the business structure and objectives. However, it can help if you separate your main account from the one focusing solely on customer service. It directs customers to the right channel and improves efficiency in dealing with enquiries. With its @ASOS Here to help Twitter handle, ASOS is doing just that! Separating customer service accounts from the main communication channel neatly isolates conversations of users who might be unhappy with your service from those who already are your fans. A calculated, practical approach offers ASOS greater control over customer issues, and customers a clearer path to a personalised service.
Privacy is a big issue online. Handling sensitive information might prove to be a challenge for financial services companies and set them back in using social. Citi Bank bridged this issue with LivePerson chat and its @Askciti Twitter handle. By monitoring mentions of ‘citi’ and ‘citibank’ on Twitter, the agents reach out to affected customers and send an invite to a live chat. Personal, proactive and safe solution which continues to generate positive reaction amongst users and industry commentators.
There is also the budget issue. Many organisations are forced to look at more efficient and cost effective ways to operate and think spending money on social will just add to an already long list of spending. While you might have to put some money in at the beginning of the process, social media is a good investment long term. BT reported that the company spends £12 to solve a customer service issue via traditional way (e.g. telephone). Dealing with the same enquiry on Twitter costs BT only 12p!
You Snooze, You Lose
Don’t let your competitors or peers get ahead of you. It will only be a matter of time before more organisations understand the importance of dialogue and discussion on social. Make sure your company’s name will never appear under #fail topic. It’s almost as simple to get on that black list as it is to avoid it.
