A business’s customers do not always contact for support via the traditional mediums of calls, live chat, and emails now. A company’s social media handles are now also expected to resolve customer queries in a timely manner. So, offering customer support through these mediums is highly advisable.
Generally, existing customers are more likely to contact a company from their phone number or email. For example, people dial Spectrum customer service number or that of their respective ISP for resolving queries. But young people are generally more accustomed to using social media platforms. Thus, offering customer service via these channels can be a game changer for your company in the support department.
Respond to Comments on Your Posts
With the dawn of social media and the ease of marketing your products on these platforms, it is important to take notice of the comments you get. Both your disgruntled and happy customers are on social media. When your posts are on their timeline, they are likely to respond with positive and negative things.
Prioritize responding to the negative ones first. Deal with them like usual customer support. Ask them about the problem and propose the solution too. It is best to ask for these details via direct messages as you get the undivided attention of the customers. Do your best in satisfying them. However, be aware of the fact that you cannot satisfy everyone.
Respond to the positive ones too. Those comments count as user-generated content that actually helps you get better credibility and organic promotion. Another thing to consider is to be fast in responding to customers as they expect fast replies to customers. Answering within an hour can be a good response time.
Answer Customer Queries, Mentions, and Tags
Your customers are not always going to post feedback under your posts. They could be mentioning your brand without actually tagging you. Tags are easier to notice because you get notifications when someone tags your company. But there are different software applications that help you check mentions across social media channels. Your team can find such questions, comments, and posts to answer the customers. Just like comments on your posts, you can resolve their problems in direct messages.
Such practice can also help you maintain your company’s reputation across channels. It is another advantage and a reason for you to deal with customers on social media.
Listen To Customer’s Direct Messages
Other than posting on the timeline, customers are likely to reach out to you directly as well. You will not always be the only one to initiate discussions. Same as your live chat on duty hours, you should respond quickly to social media DMs too. Like live chat on the website, you can also have auto-responding messages on these platforms.
Also, it is best to provide your website URL, customer support phone number, email, and buttons for WhatsApp and Messenger on your profiles too. This way, customers can reach you with their desired medium and you can offer satisfactory answers everywhere. If you offer support for limited hours, it is best to try to prioritize support through social media for more hours.
Create a Designated Handle for Customer Support
When you are utilizing social media as a channel of customer support, creating a designated handle just for customer help is something worth doing. It may get difficult to manage both customer support and marketing through a single channel. But with a designated channel for customer support, you may be able to offer better support. Plus, you can give access to the designated channel to customer support agents.
Increase Your Customer Advocates
A satisfied customer is generally a happy customer. So, make customer satisfaction a priority on multiple channels of communication, including social media. When you answer a customer or resolve their problem on a social media platform, those customers can become your company’s advocates. Thus, more beneficial for you to help them.
When a customer talks to your company on platforms like Twitter, what they say is visible to a lot of their mutuals. And when those people see how you prioritize your customers, those people are more likely to try your product or service too. Also, the word of mouth of your satisfied customers can raise brand awareness and further benefit you.
Conclusion
When you do these 5 things, your existing customers will be happier and you will have a higher chance of getting more customers. Plus, you can get an edge over the competition by leveraging your social media presence. With all these benefits, it is worth it to offer customer service via social media channels.