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There is no one-size fits

all approach to social

customer service…

But … there is best practice advice to

help you avoid some of the pot holes along the social

road.

3

Here are 8 of the most common

stumbling blocks …

Mistake #1 Social isn’t fully

integrated

5

6

of businesses will use social media for customer service by 2020 (Gartner)

%

7

Social customer care should be part of a fully immersive strategy with other channels.

If you are not yet ready you

are not alone.

8

9

of organisations do not think social media is integrated well enough (Incite Group)

%

If you are not yet ready you

are not alone.

10

The time to fix this is now

11

of interactions are digital and these are on course to overtake phone contact by the end of the year(Dimension Data)

%

12

Digital consumers moving away from the phone assume that any brand with a social presence is ready to support them there too.

Mistake #2 Driving the wrong way up a

one-way street

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The social contract has changed

Conversational commerce and

service on social networks and

messaging apps are driving the

new deal for brands and

consumers.

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The customer view is if we listen, you’ll need to listen too

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Valuable time and energy spent on creating engaging social content will be wasted, if you do not have a solid customer service solution for two-way dialogue too.

Mistake #3 Sorry should never be the

hardest word

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Never miss a beat

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Listen outside your social pages

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If someone has a complaint, not answering them will only amplify anger and make things worse.

Brands that are swimming against the tide and struggling to find and answer comments have probably not invested in

engagement technology to manage mentions.

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Make sure support teams have a dedicated tool with

Automations to prioritiseand route complaints to the

right people at the right time.

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Mistake #4 Radio silence in a crisis

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As storm clouds gather …

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Use Automations in your social customer service app to monitor conversations for early bird warnings.

Radio silence will only make

things worse

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Don’t take a linear approach,

isolate agent permissions and ask angry customers to find

the information from different

teams.

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of consumers find dealing with customer service issues exhausting (BT / Avaya)

%

Give your social media team the flexibility to be proactive in the moment and in channel,

especially when the service you provide fails.

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Pre-empt questions by empowering your team to post regular updates to keep customers well informed.

Mistake #5 Viewing conversations

in isolation

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Consumers view their experience through the arc of all interactions they have with a brand. They expect agents to know what’s been said

before, regardless of channel.

33

34

of customers expect agents to have instant access to conversation histories

(BT / Avaya)

%

35

Team members need access to previous conversations at the touch of a button to inform replies.

Mistake #6 Channel hopping

36

It’s annoying to keep saying the

same story over and over again

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Probably the same story that’s just been said on the phone

If a message comes in on social, people will want a reply there as well. They won’t hold back in letting you know how

infuriating it is to be sent off

elsewhere. 39

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Customers want to connect on the channels which work best for them, not the channels brands prefer.

Mistake #7 When automation doesn’t work

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People who use social media want a real person to talk to. They want immediate, personalised contact and conversations need to be

based on real dialogue - not

broadcasts, scripts or algorithms.

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of people view quickly getting through to an agent as the top priority for customer service (tyntec)

%

Mistake #8 When you’re under pressure

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Try to avoid telling customers

your team is under pressure due to high volumes. Simply acknowledge the message and tell your customer that you are working on it.

45

Manage expectations before

expectations manage you

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Thank You!

Looking to turn these tips into results? Get in touch to see how we can help.

Email: info@sentimentmetrics.com

Web: sentimentmetrics.com

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