Getting Social with Customer Service

FB-and-TwitterAs ecommerce sellers begin to embrace social media as a way to engage with customers, many are finding it to be a perfect opportunity to also use it as a customer service tool, also known as eServices, according to a recent blog post from Fifth Gear.

Yes, brands need to “engage their audience with news, campaigns, deals and offers on their social media networks,” according to the blog post, but they also can use social media sites as an extension of their customer service center. Here are a few tips on how to turn your social media profiles into extensions of your customer service center, according to the blog post:

Create a Separate Customer Service Channel: If you already have a brand profile on Facebook or a brand handle on Twitter, you need to now create a customer service handle/profile on your preferred social media sites. “This makes it easier to identify, plus, you can separate marketing campaigns from customer support,” according to the blog post. Also, when it comes to sending out tweets, status or answering any customer questions, the blog post recommends using “a similar tone and stick to the same branding tools so that customers know they are dealing with your company.”

Be Prompt: The reason why customers are heading to social media to interact with your brand is because generally it is instantaneous. Customers can voice their concerns quickly, download coupons, or snag discounts. Because of this, the blog states, you need to be “as prompt as you can” when interacting with customers on your eService channel. According to the post, “while on social media anywhere from 100 to 1000 or more followers can view an angry comment or question.” You need to respond as quickly as possible, no more than 10 minutes, according to the blog post.

Make it a Single point of Contact: If a customer has a simple question related to availability or specifics of a product, let them know in a comment, this can avoid publicly asking them to call a number or send an email.

Train Your Team: Your social media eService teams need to be trained and trained well, according to the blog post. This is more important than ever with smaller companies where employees tend to have more responsibilities.