It was the year 2016. The campaign was a brand index and a new customer survey. The results were astounding – 90%1 of the respondents acknowledged that they have used social media in some way to talk to a brand directly. Also, over one-third of them divulged that they preferred social media over other traditional channels like phone and email.
That was 2016! Imagine how it is today.
Social media has come of age in recent years. Though it was conceptualized as a networking platform, over the years, it doubled up as a business development tool. Today, it’s redefining the way customer service is delivered, thanks to its influence and penetration.
If a business is heavily counting on the traditional contact center approach, it’s time they pull up their socks. Customers are fatigued with the traditional call center approach in which waiting times are getting longer. They now seek instant answers, and that’s where social media comes to their rescue. So, should ‘trings’ become ‘clicks’? Not at all. This is the age of multi-channel customer service, and adding social media to the contact center is a call that’s worth taking. Here’s a quick rundown on the benefits of social customer service:
Enables Personalized Service
Social customer service is swift and dynamic. It helps make product suggestions, gather preferences, announce service outages, receive feedback, respond to complaints and a lot more. The result is obvious – customer delight. Customers can also ask for help how, where and when they want. Automated replies don’t always work. As per another survey, 52%2 of consumers said that they’re likely to switch brands if a company doesn’t make an effort to personalize communication to them.
Triggers Real-Time Conversations
Every customer likes to be appreciated, thanked and cared for. Social customer service can help respond instantly to customer queries/complaints, so they feel important. This gesture builds trust and brand loyalty. Since nobody can foresee the channel a customer uses to connect with the brand, it makes sense to be available across touchpoints. A study revealed that 42%5 of consumers who interact via social media expect a response in 60 minutes.
Ensures Simplified Operations
One of the tangible benefits of integrating social media into contact center operations is the efficiency of service delivery. Likes, shares and comments can be translated into valuable insights for drawing up a viable customer engagement strategy. Intrusive voice-based surveys, followed by long-drawn analyses, can be eliminated. Also, the customers don’t have to be transferred from agent to agent every time they call. Social Media Customer Care (SMCC) agents are 167%4 more efficient than voice agents, and the service is 63%4 cheaper than phone support, says another study.
Enhances Brand Image
Social media empowers customers to engage with the brand on any device from anywhere at any time, and contact centers can respond to their questions and requests in a manner that’s aligned to customer expectations. The right mix of automation and human intervention makes the service delivery natural and seamless. This builds trust and loyalty. The customers will also share their experience with others. In the aforesaid study, 80%4 of respondents stated that their loyalty is also dependent on a company’s speed of response.
Provides Customer Insight
Voice support largely depends on the ability and alacrity of the agents interacting with the customers, but social support extends the potential of customer support. An agent can remain passive and yet generate a lot of insights about customers by ‘listening’ to them on channels like Facebook, Twitter and relevant review sites. The insight can also help nip issues in the bud so they don’t impact the business. The availability of scheduling, listening and analytics tools makes the task of translating metrics into actionable insights easier.
Facilitates Hassle-Free Selling
Agents make calls to upsell and cross-sell to existing customers. It’s also not uncommon for customers to resist even the most irresistible of offers on the phone. If the same offer is made on social media through a DM, they are likely to be more receptive. That’s because they take their time to respond from the comfort of their offices or homes. This also raises customer satisfaction.
Whether the agents like to hear a ‘tring tring’ or a ‘click click’, the time is ripe for contact centers to embrace the new order – social customer service. Yes, it might be a tough call for traditional contact centers, but the fact remains: today’s customers are demanding it.
References:
https://www.zendesk.com/resources/customer-service-through-social-media/
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/vala-afshar/research-state-of-the-con_b_12613954.html
https://www.icmi.com/resources/2017/Why-Contact-Centers-Need-to-Embrace-Social-Media-in-2018
