How many times did you decide against buying something just because you received poor treatment from employees? Most likely more than once. We all have. And that’s how, as business people, we know how important it is to build a good relationship with each client.
After all, respect is one of the basic psychological needs that drives positive customer experience.
Customers have always been a focal point of every business, but today, making them satisfied is becoming harder than ever. Customers have more power through online reviews and the sheer amount of completion. Today’s customers hold companies to a challenging standard. When it comes to customer satisfaction, companies are competing not just with their competitors in the same industry. They are competing against standards set by companies in all industries.
People no longer compare you just to your direct competitors. They compare you to the positive experiences they’ve had with companies in any industry!
— Shep Hyken (@Hyken) February 22, 2021
One of the most important parts of satisfactory customer service is communication. Only a decade ago, companies had to work on only two ways of communicating with customers — phone and fax machines. Today, custom interactions can take place over various channels, including social media, where customers can not only connect with brands, but also give valuable feedback to them. Omnichannel social media customer service has become the focus of many brands. That is because having a smooth experience no matter what channel the customers are using is essential to their satisfaction.
Having many different social media channels means a brand’s relationship with customers should be impeccable. You need to be consistent on all channels while maintaining a quality service. That’s a tough task if not handled correctly.
Why is the quality of omnichannel social media customer service so significant?
Customer service likely became more important than the product brands are selling. It became necessary for customers to feel devotion and respect from you.
Once, a word traveling from mouth to mouth had a great influence on a business. Now, that influence has probably increased even more. According to Esteban Kolsky, 13% of unhappy customers will share their experiences with 15 or more people. So, having satisfied customers that will share their experience with others will do wonders for you.
To reinforce the importance of great customer service, PWC conducted research that says that the number of companies that invest in omnichannel customer service skyrocketed — from 20% to 80%!
So, now that we have concluded that customer service has become more important than ever, here are three ways to improve your omnichannel social media customer service.
1. Text Me Maybe: Optimizing Customer Service For Mobile Devices Is Huge
Today, a majority of customers use social media on their mobile devices. This movement did not occur overnight,
By the year 2016, mobile devices became so popular they have overthrown their desktop counterparts. By the year 2019 53% of web traffic worldwide came through mobile users. This statistic alone is a strong argument to consider a brand’s mobile customer service strategy.
If you don’t run a mobile customer service you’ll likely face frustrated customers who can make your life hard. More people are searching and buying using mobile devices, so they expect to find quality customer service.
Matter of fact, many companies are facing these kinds of problems. 90% of customers complained about their experience with customer service on mobile devices. This can only mean one thing — a business that hasn’t optimized its customer service for mobile devices is losing the race against those who have.
What companies should consider the most is providing mobile-friendly documentation, videos and FAQs. A site completely optimized for mobile devices will result in customers more likely to have a much better experience. After all, 55% of customers said that a bad mobile experience makes them less likely to engage with a company.
Making all communication between a customer and a brand smooth on mobile devices will also boost customer satisfaction. Implementing an option that allows customers to text a business is another great way to connect.
Pro tip: Consider creating an app.
2. DIY Option: Help Customers Resolve Issues By Themselves
Most of the customers will feel better by fixing the problem themselves. Offering options for quick self-service will dramatically improve the omnichannel social media customer service. The key is to prepare answers to customers’ potential problems.
For example, creating story highlights on your Instagram page filled with answers to common questions asked by your followers. This will allow customers to find solutions quickly, without having to wait for a response from an agent. That, in turn, will save time and resources for the brand as well.
Additionally, having a FAQ section and video tutorials can speed up the process for both parties. Customers will likely consider this as a good experience, as it went through without having to hassle by waiting.
3. Better, Faster, Stronger: Improve Your Social Media Response Time
Social media sped up communication with customers. On social networks, customers expect answers quickly. One study by Conversocial found that slow responses are viewed more negatively by consumers, than when a company offers no answer at all.
Larger companies realize the importance of this part, and they can afford to hire multiple people to work on different channels. For small businesses, this can be more challenging. Automating the process can be a useful tool when it comes to quick responses to customer inquiries. There are many different chatbots that can handle the basic initial correspondence.
On some social networks, it’s possible to set up automated responses. One example is LinkedIn message automation, where you are able to send a pre-set reply to anyone as soon as they message you. And no, automated messages don’t need to seem spammy, as you are able to make them look personalized. In fact, the use of automation often helps add an emotional human element to digital communication and customer experience. In addition, certain LinkedIn automation tools also provide options where you could export email lists from LinkedIn for better email marketing and sales outreach.
Both, personalization and speed of communication and problem solving will improve omni channel social media customer service.
BONUS TIP: Test Everything
Whatever strategies a business implements, constantly testing every step is crucial.
Try different methods. If you don’t see improvements on the first attempt, don’t give up, maybe a little change here and there will show better results. Test and experiment with various channels too. For example, email is still one of the greatest channels for customer service.
Conclusion
Customers are more demanding than ever. Today, having a satisfied customer means you need to improve your omnichannel social media customer service. Optimizing for mobile use, leaving room and options for self-service, and improving response time with automation is crucial.
