Everyday you will find more companies that are starting to use social media for more than just internet marketing. In fact, you can use the social web for a number of different reasons such as marketing, sales, market research, and customer service. Find below three ways you can use social media (Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and LinkedIn) for customer services.
Social media and customer services
Responding: If you every get a complaint or a query on the social media channels that you are using such as Facebook or Twitter, respond immediately. Never ever delete them. If someone notices that you have deleted a comment, you might end up with bigger problems. Save yourself and your credibility by dealing with the issue by responding to all the comments you receive.
Apologizing: Apologize where necessary and take responsibility. After you have acknowledged the problem and that your dealing with it, apologize if it was your mistake. Do it openly so that all your followers and target audience can see that you are transparent and that you are dealing with the matter. This can help you build trust.
Fix the problem: Look at customer service as a product of your brand. Most people don’t just complain for the pure sake of complaining. They complain and take it online because they are experiencing an issue. That means that there’s an opportunity for you to make that client happy again. Offer them a discount, refund or something else the next time they want to purchase with you. Again, be transparent and do this in the public.
Customer service and online reputation management (ORM) should never be seen just to doze the fires that arouse. Use it to build credibility and increase your brand awareness online. If you are going to handle your customer service issues wrong on the social web, it will most likely backfire on you. Do it right and your customers will recognize that you can be trusted online.
