Richard McCrossan, Strategic Business Director, Genesys
Social Media has provided a huge platform for businesses to promote themselves and chat to their customers, but where does it stand in the world of customer service?
We now have the answer. Positive customer service experiences on social media sites are proving to increase sales and brand recommendations with an estimated third of customers now turning to these sites to ask product related questions, so it is imperative that businesses start listening and engaging with these customers.
Companies are realising that sites such as Twitter and Facebook can provide that extra oh-so-important piece of customer service – but it is so easy to get it wrong.
How NOT to use social media for customer service:
- Silence is not golden – It has been shown that 4 in 5 customer enquiries go unanswered. It is crucial that customers can see you are trying to help them, and there is nowhere more visible than on social media. It does not take much to reply “Please DM us and we will try and resolve the issue”. You have taken the issue off-line and shown a willingness to resolve it.
- Shifting the Blame – There is nothing more irritating for a customer to hear than “Sorry it’s not my department”. Customers need to know someone cares, so brands need to take full responsibility and aim to resolve issues without having to direct customers to other platforms. So here’s the do’s and don’ts:
- Don’t say – “Please inform XXX of your issue who will be able to help you.”
- Do say – “So sorry to hear about your issue, I have passed the information onto the correct department who will resolve it for you.”
- Dont just respond – Help! Whilst it is important for customers to receive a response to their issue, it is no use saying “Thank you for your comments” or “Sorry about that” – take time to respond to the customer and help them with their enquiry and make it as easy as possible for customers to do business with you.
- Choose your words wisely – Even if you mean well, a badly worded tweet can mean a huge disaster for your company. You can see the difference here:
- Don’t say – “We’ll tell someone about your issue” – This sounds like someone will find out about the complaint, but nothing will be done about it.
- Do say – “Sorry about that, we’ll inform the right person and make sure your issue is resolved”
While it may be difficult for larger companies to reply to all of the tweets they receive, it is important that they at least reply to some of them. Negative experiences travel fast on Twitter – and angry customers are more likely to voice their issues to a wider audience.
Richard McCrossan, Strategic Business Director, Digital Channels, EMEA, Genesys
Richard McCrossan joined Genesys in 2007 as a voice self-service specialist and formed part of the team that created the Intelligent Customer Front Door (iCFD) solution, which ushered in a new way of delivering customer-centric, cross channel customer service.
Now, as Strategic Business Director for Digital Channels in EMEA, Richard is responsible for supporting Genesys’ drive into digital channels with new and innovative products and solutions, such as Genesys Social Engagement and Mobile Engagement. Richard is a passionate evangelist for simple, fast and great customer service, a subject on which he regularly blogs, speaks and tweets.
Richard holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Queens University, Belfast.
Reach him on Twitter: @dossan