Customer service is an essential part of a business. In fact, it is the key determiner of a business’s success or failure. Many companies, who realize this fact, devote their time and resources to expand and increase their value. But there are many firms, especially small firms, which never focus on this element, therefore they never succeed. Many tools, including social media, are some of the modern tools which help in advancing and improving customer service. But the question is can social media be the solution to bad customer service. Yes, according to a Social Media Marketing Birmingham UK. However, it can be answered by understanding the meaning of bad customer service and evaluating the importance of social media for good customer service.
What is bad customer service?
Whenever a business becomes unsuccessful in fulfilling the expectation of its customers, it has bad customer service. It can be in terms of the quality of products and services, or the overall experience with the business. The examples of bad customer service are as follows:
You have not provided the customers means to communicate their problems.
The quality of your product and services is unsatisfactory.
You have put them on hold for so long.
Agents are not empathetic.
Responses are automated, which do not answer their questions.
Now looking at the above signs of bad customer service, can you fix them with social media? Yes, to a large extent. It is because the only quality of product and services is not in the hands of social media, but it can address the rest of the problems. Here it is how.
Social Media Customer service:
Social media customer service is the solution for bad customer service as it is a practice of using social media tools to sort out customers’ problems and queries. Social media itself is an entity that supports the communication and two-way interaction of people. Therefore, it is now popularly used as one of the significant tools for businesses, as it bridges the gap between the brand and its customers. Businesses use social media to boost brand awareness, market products and service, and listen to customers. Therefore, social media customer service helps business to reach out to the customers and help customers to reach the brand. It means you are offering your customers a channel to reach out to you in the most humanly way. About 70% of people depend on sending messages about customer service questions. About 69% of people say that being able to message makes them confident about the brand. Social media is an effective tool to address customer service related problems, yet companies need to be mindful that they have to complete the practices responsibly.
Practices of social media customer service:
· Do not delay to respond:
When a customer reaches out to you for a question, never make them wait for too long as it is a sign of bad customer service. Assist them on time and offer the most appropriate information they may need.
· Expect good, bad, and worse:
On social media, when you are open to the world, you will see many people sharing both bad and good comments and reviews. Do not panic after seeing a bad comment, and never mute your customers. Instead, be patient and seek improvement. On the contrary, there must be few who will post good comments and reviews about you. Appreciate the valuable customers and make them feel like stars.
Bottom line:
Social media is one of the potential tools for customer service only if used aptly. It is the remedy of many problems that arise related to customer service, but you should have a smart strategy and a team to accomplish your goals.