Whether you're selling software or shoes, good and prompt customer service is at the heart of every successful business. While we cannot deny the fact that telephone-based customer service still exists, many customers do not get the level of assistance they desire. Consequently, customers (more than ever) are taking the route of social media to resolve the problems, get the answers and clarify the doubts.
The trend of 140 characters
We all know the unprecedented popularity of Twitter and how it has carved a niche among the social media addicts. But then unsurprisingly (most experts had already predicted), Twitter has grown to be at the sharp end of social customer support. This is due to the very nature of Twitter along with the fact that most customers communicate the most vocal and sustained attack to brands on Twitter only.
To substantiate this fact better, the example of Dell can be stated –
Under the name of ‘Dell Hell' postings, Dell suffered a social onslaught over poor customer service; which encouraged it to reinvent its customer service policies. What Dell came up with was an exceptional way of social customer service operations in the name of-@DellCares.
Needless to say, today most organizations are hell bent on improving their customer relations through Twitter. They're using it to involve customers in improving products and services, keep them in constant loop, and direct them to appropriate resources.
1. Jet Blue
Airline delays cause customer frustration; which is why people are pretty vocal about their feelings when their flight is delayed. But then when you have a name like JetBlue, even though stuff happens and things go wrong, Jet Blue makes it up by its excellent Twitter responsiveness.
Explaining this stance on Twitter, a Jet Blue official has stated - ‘'Social media has been revolutionary. Today, at the slightest of hiccup customers don't just get mad, they aim to get even by using the power they have in their social reach. Customers know that businesses monitor tweets; so they're more likely to get redress with 140 well-chosen characters than a conversation over the phone.
@JetBlue ensures to provide prompt customer response for continued customer loyalty. We are quick to say sorry for the poor experience a customer has received to calm the waters.''
2. Apple
Most often customers need a quick answer to their random questions. They are not much willing to trawl Google for answers or call up the support desk for the technical service queries. This is precisely where Apple scores the card with its ‘Here's a quick fix' tweet.
3. Nike
@Nike and @NikeSupport are prime examples of customer service done well. If you closely observe Nike Twitter channel, you will see a constant respond to someone new- whether it's about Nike apparel, Fuel Band or other products.
How Nike does this? Since they have a varied assortment of sports equipment and lines of apparel, Nike has divided its Twitter service. @Nike accommodates followers interested in specific sports or store locations, whereas @NikeSupport is dedicated solely to responding to customers who need help.
What Nike suggests: Think about your customers and how you can make ‘getting help' easy for them. Remember, apart from losing a customer through poor customer service, you can also lose customers if you make things too complicated.
4. Nikon
To render great customer service, companies should not solely focus on saying sorry and trying to fix things when they go wrong. As Nikon does, Twitter can be used to show customers how to get more from the products and services.
Nikon's various kinds of ‘did you know?' tweets ensure people get a better experience. As a @Nikon official puts it - ‘' the info we provide are quick tricks to learn for the photo addicts - something they can learn and show off to friends and family.''
5. Starbucks
Starbucks has followed the ideology of - ‘the real long term value of social media lies in using it to improve the business.'
In the words of a Starbucks executive - ‘'we do not want to wait for complaints in order to improve our service. So we proactively reach out to customers to ask how we can improve. By hearing them over Twitter, we ensure that our customers continue to receive a better experience. ‘'
How can you get on the right Twitter track?
Today, customers expect companies to ditch the corporate face and communicate colloquially. They expect to blast off a quick tweet and get an answer straight back.
Thanks to the technological advancements, there are now more tools available to enable companies monitor twitter and get ahead of the curve. One best example is the social CRM which helps enterprises keep a constant track of the feeds over every social platform. As a CRM expert from convergeenterprise.com explains it - ‘'Social CRM helps enterprises go a step further by responding more quickly and scaling the efforts more easily.''
With the implementation of a social CRM application combined with the above-mentioned customer service tweet examples, you can definitely give a start to a Twitter-powered customer service.
