Posted by With 3.2 billion active users on social media platforms, the digital world is expanding at an exponential rate. Social media has become the primary source of information for 42% of the earth’s population. Research has shown staggering results of 90% of Millennials, 48% of Baby Boomers, and 77% of Generation X, using social media every day.
These stats have made social media a life-blood for every brand. Thus, brands need to maintain a dramatic presence on social media channels for standing out from the sea of competitors. Now, if a brand has a social media presence, it is likely that customers will knock on their door for help.
To curate an alluring relationship, a top-tier customer service plan is needed. The stats from Hootsuite tells us why a social media customer service plan is obligatory.
Some highlights of recent researches show:
- 20% of internet users in the US revealed social media as their first priority for customer service.
- Every month, 150 million people get in touch with businesses through Instagram Direct.
- 80% of customers prefer to live chats and social media channels for customer support.
Thus, a well-crafted customer service plan for social media is mandatory. Let us look at the main reasons for a social media customer service plan:
Importance of social media customer service plan
Industry benchmark
When a brand is launched in the corporate world, it needs to follow the industry trends, or it will die. From well-established multinationals to small scale businesses, every brand is now using social media to cater to the customer.
Learning from the best is essential to become the best. One great example of customer service through social media was shown by a big brand, “Nike.” Nike has established a firm position on every social media channel. Twitter, which is considered as the biggest giant of customer care, is fully utilized by the brand.
Nike is providing multilingual support in seven different languages on Twitter. These languages are English, Japanese, Italian, French, German, Dutch, and Spanish. Research shows that 53% of Twitter users expect a reply within an hour. Nike has done much more than this. By having a separate account for answering customer queries and concerns, Nike has won the hearts of its clients.
Other big shots like Zara, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, JP Morgan, etc. are also using their core efforts in creating an excellent customer service plan. The approach used by these companies comprises of three stages:
- Listen
- Appreciate
- Resolve
Handling the positive issues is not as tricky as the company’s image is not at stake. For instance, guiding a new customer about product use is easier and can be done in a 280 character limit. Here, a link to a website is enough. On the other hand, bad and conflicting queries are tricky.
Similarly, a small business can use social media to connect with their consumers and build a loyal customer following. Carpet Cleaning Bromley, a professional cleaning service in the UK, uses social media platforms to answer customer complaints/queries and respond to feedback. A representative from the company stated that staying in touch on social media has made our company popular with local clients.
Companies, whether big or small, can use social media customer service plan to obtain higher customer satisfaction as well as to build a loyal community.
Protection of the brand’s reputation
Oracle reported that 89% of customers turn towards competitors because of poor customer support. This highlights the importance of a customer service plan on social media.
Since 40% of customers want a prompt response (within 60 minutes) on social media. The inability to answer the concerns results in spoiling the brand’s reputation. There is no shortage of options for the customers. They are bombarded with new brands every other day. When they do not get a response, they quickly move towards another option, which is already throwing a ball for them to catch.
Brands should remember that there is no option but to create a customer service plan. If they want to remain competitive, an online social media customer service plan is mandatory.
Customers have become smarter than ever. They know that sincere brands are always up for their customers, even at an eleventh hour. Thus, if they get a prompt response, they make an effort to return to the brand next time.
On the flip side, if a prompt response is not given, it portrays a bad image. The market is competitive, and other brands are arming their support teams with the latest tools every day. Thus, the probability of getting a quick response from competitors is always higher.
Some companies lure their customers with excellent customer support even if the product is of average quality. Imagine that you purchased an imported blender and broke its cap in the first week. The imported blender is great, but it doesn’t have customer service in the USA. On the other hand, a local brand that has an average product but easily accessible customer support will direct its consumers to the nearest replacement store in a min. the company could even ship a new cap for free to gain a loyal customer for life.
Targeting more customers
Research shows that 71% of customers recommend the brand in their circle after getting satisfactory customer service. Many small scale businesses have reported an increase in their customer base after launching their separate accounts for customer service.
However, this approach of increasing customers via customer service requires the following actions:
- A friendly opening
- A concise route
- Link in the tweet/post
A tweet, “I would be glad to help you. Could you DM me the details and receipt number?” shows how perfectly the message was crafted. The opening of the message showed the friendly gesture of the brand while the middle and end part shows its care for customer concern.
Gone are days when brands use to answer the selected posts. These days, due to immense competition, brands are showing responses even if the post is negative, irrelevant, or posted several times. A short message, “DM us for the details,” can also do the job.
When customers get impressed with the sincerity of the brand, they make quick recommendations to their friends and family.
Conclusion
In short, it becomes terrible for companies to thrive without an inclusive customer service plan for social media channels. Be it Twitter or LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram, a coherent strategy for customer support is the dire need for sustenance. The quick response of complaints, utilizing chatbots, and creating tickets for queries should be managed from one dashboard to increase efficiency.
We should remember that customer is the king. Making our presence where customers are present and satisfying them with prompt responses is the simplest recipe for success.
Nouman is a digital marketing expert from Dynamologic Solutions for many years. He considers bringing all the keywords to the top of his duty and constantly strives hard to achieve the best result. Along with finding & implementing content optimization strategy, he is also fond of writing interesting blogs on SEO & digital marketing related topics.
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