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Social Customer Service: Creating Happy and Loyal Customers Through Social Media

October 31, 2011 § 21 Comments

Back in August, social media and networking expert Peter Shankman tweeted to Morton’s Steakhouse jokingly requesting a steak to be waiting for him at Newark Airport. Morton’s had seen his request and upon landing, sure enough, there was someone from Morton’s wait for Shankman. Instantly, through Twitter, news of Morton’s attentive online customer service presence spread.

Companies throughout various industries are quickly realizing that they can use not only use social media to promote their brand, but they can also use it to engage in a new form of customer service. By becoming more social with customers, customers are able to see that there is a face behind the brand and that a person is listening to them. Customers will want to interact with a brand in which they know they can get great customer service. The Social Media for Customer Service Summit last week addressed how brands can leverage their social media presence to improve customer-brand relations.

One key point that was addressed was the necessity to determine the difference between those users who are using social media to complain for the sake of complaining or to gain free stuff versus those who are genuinely looking for answers that they couldn’t get another way. Brands shouldn’t feel obligated to answer every post, but should be reactive to concerns made through social networks. Additionally, generic responses can appear to be the equivalent of not responding at all or even erode the brand’s credibility.

One unique thing about using social media for customer service is that it ‘s a very open channel. If someone posts a concern, it’s automatically made public to your followers. By ignoring public concern, brands make it very easy to instantly alienate its customers. Respond and you’ve addressed a concern easily, potentially avoiding a future larger issue. More than one customer usually has the same issue so you could be helping a large customer base with each post.

Another way brands can use social media to build effective customer service and maintain loyal customers is to keep their cool when dealing with disgruntled customers. As mentioned above, social media is very an open channel, and everyone will see the entire communication. By deleting negative posts, or responding coldly instead of offering a solution, customers will see that you care more your company than your customers. Kip Wetzel, of Comcast, points out that you can maintain customer relations while defending your brand. Just don’t do it in a way that tells customers they’re always wrong, because they’re generally supposed to be right. If it seems that the discussion might be lengthy, carry the conversation into a direct message or offer that they can contact the respondent via a direct e-mail.

In order to utilize social media as an effective customer service outlet, brands have to be timely and responsive. Essentially, there needs to be people “manning the lines,” just as you would within a phone-based customer service department. DML’s REACH v4 allows brands to manage all social media and application outlets through one platform. Through REACH, brands will be able check all accounts simultaneously and frequently, allowing the brand to share news and post responses in a timely manner. Additionally, brands will be able to efficiently direct questions and issues to the appropriate departments.

There are many brands utilizing social networking as a customer service tool, and there are even others who may be hurting themselves by not taking advantage of the customer engagement through these networks. A couple examples of successful customer service within social media include:

KLM Airlines

KLM Airlines is a prime example of how a company is creating an excellent image for themselves through social networks. Last year, when volcanic ash over Iceland interrupted air travel. KLM immediately developed a Facebook app in which people could get up-to-date information and rebook flights. More recently, they launched a 24/7 customer service initiative on Facebook and Twitter. A few minutes spent on their Facebook page makes it evident that they are holding true to their promise. Most questions and concerns were addressed within the hour of being posted, and many included the prompt that KLM would be sending that person a direct message to get further details so they can assist them.

Visit KLM’s Facebook page here.
Zappos

Another example of strong customer service on social media is by Zappos.com. Well regarded for its customer service over all, @Zappo_Service, their customer service specific Twitter account, has 10,500 followers. Each customer service rep introduces themselves, giving a personal face to a general account. Zappos responds to everything ranging from a customer expressing their love for their shoes, to wanting to know how they can track their order and even just responding to a “How are you?” tweet. Reading through the Twitter feed almost reads like a chat room, since the response is so interactive and quick. Zappos response time is extraordinarily quick, and usually resulted in extensive conversation feeds with customers.

Visit Zappos Twitter page here.

Customers don’t want to interact with brands who aren’t focused on their customers. Too many frustrating experiences may leave customers apprehensive about dealing with traditional customer service departments. By using social media to create a unique, personalized customer service experience, brands can put customers at ease knowing that they can get an answer to a question by simply logging on to Facebook or Twitter.

Direct Message Lab provides a central platform , REACH v4, for brands to effectively build, manage, and analyze their social, mobile and app-based marketing. For more information, check out www.directmessagelab.com, and follow us on Twitter, @dmlinfo.

On-Base Percentage and Social Media Success

July 14, 2011 § Leave a comment

Not long ago, an MLB batter was measured by three raw statistics: batting average, home runs and RBI’s. These proved, time and time again, how players would be defined and measured. Things have since changed. Now, you have metrics such as on-base-percentage (OBP), slugging percentage (SLG) and on-base plus slugging (OPS). Unlike the batting average, OBP considers hits, walks, hit-by-pitches and sacrifice flies, and SLG concentrates on how much power a hitter has. SO, theoretically, a guy batting a measely.240 with a plethora of walks and sac flies could have an OBP of .360. Not too shabby.

Such is the case for social media metrics. Social media success has been judged by number of “Likes” on Facebook and number of “Followers” on Twitter. Sure, your 5000 fans are a great way to show you, indeed, have a social media presence. And look at all those followers you have. PHEW! What a socialite. But are these “Likes” and “Followers” adding value to your social media strategy, more importantly to your brand?

As “Likes” and “Followers” are the batting average and home runs of social media, statistics such as Clicks per Tweet, Actions per Follower or Fan, and Likes/Share per Post are the OBP and SLG. These metrics show how your audience receives and engages with your content. Do they click through the links that you post, and read what is on the other side? Do they share and ReTweet with their followers? A higher ReTweets per Tweet ratio can signal that your audience trusts the content you push, and Mentions per Tweet/Comments per Post is a leading indicator to measure the engagement that your messages insprire.

So, as you scour your metrics, looking for some ways to increase the total number of Followers or Likes, you should consider how to engage with those who already do. By sparking interaction and conversation, and having an audience that is willing to listen and take action, over time, your social media efforts will become the authority of your brand.

Remember, there’s 162 games in a season.

Facebook to Add “Happening Now” Feature

June 14, 2011 § Leave a comment

Facebook announced last week that it has began testing a Happening Now sidebar on their news feed that will give its users real-time information on what their friends are liking, sharing and commenting.

At first glance. . . and second and third glance, it appears as if Facebook is taking a direct page out of the Twitter book. Although Facebook denied reports that it had lost six million users in May, it has to be worried that its social counterpart is doing something they’re not and could be chipping away at their social share.

Facebook ‘s News Feed will now include: Top News, Most Recent and Happening Now.

Add the Games, Apps, Questions, Contests, a supply of Requests, this, that and the other, and, uhh, Houston, we have a problem. While the Happening Now feed will allure those not familiar with Twitter’s ease and real-time parade, it will be another burden to those who just want to feed on the content.

It will flow the main content, but it won’t be the main flow of content.

As Facebook just aquired software design company, Sofa, it will be interesting to see if a redesign is in store to put more feature on this new feed.

It’s also virtually impossible to tell from the screenshot where Facebook would incorporate all of its ads that it relies so heavily on? Hmm.

What the Zuck?

May 27, 2011 § Leave a comment

The good old days…where the first days of summer included a game of Monopoly long into the night, with a portable radio waving its antenna into the sky. Cell phones were “car phones,” regular phones were a nuisance and if a bag of Lays made it through the night, something was wrong.

Now? A little older, out at the bar, can’t go a minute – hell, 30 seconds — without reaching in my pocket with that “what’d I miss” mentality. Nothing, ya dummy, enjoy your Guinness already. I won’t even say how much social media is a part of our lives, too redundant. But how far is too far?

According to an article in The New York Times, Facebook is hell-bent on partnering with online music and movie services, Spotify and Netflix, respectively. Thus, adding infinitely more meaningless details of our lives into the never ending feed.

When does enough actually mean enough? Zuck needs to take a step back and just let things flow, for the sake of the 700 million people who made the company what it is. Of course these new features will get eaten up like a Bavarian donut, because when there are 700 million people sniffing around, 50% of which are everyday contributors and content clickers, you’re bound to get someone to chime in.

Remember the last social network who thought it could bully its way through every industry — adding music, games, polls, questions etc. Yea, ask Tom from Myspace how that ended up. So, how far off of their strategy of being the anti-Myspace — a central marketplace to socialize with your friends — is Facebook willing to go?

“Music, TV, news, books – those types of things I think people just naturally do with their friends,” said Zuckerberg. Who? Who shares ear buds? Who sits in a circle and reads the NY Times with their best friend on the weekends, or goes line-for-line in the Catcher in the Rye with their cronies? The fact that these things are things people discuss with friends is not the same as actually doing with friends.

The status update is ripping away the foundation of personal discussion. I don’t discuss, I update. Phooey. They want to get their hands into every aspect of everyday life as possible. Soon, you won’t be creeping Facebook, Facebook will be creeping you.

So, as June 1 approaches, and we begin to take our free-time outside, gimme a bag of Salt n Vinegar and bring me back to the days where snagging Boardwalk and Park Place was really something to brag to your friends about.

Direct Message Lab

Social Customer Service: Creating Happy and Loyal Customers Through Social Media

World Map of Social Communities

On-Base Percentage and Social Media Success

Q: What’s a Fan Worth? A: What’s a Hen Weigh?

Facebook to Add “Happening Now” Feature

What the Zuck?

Where Am I?