The key to effectively using social media for customer service is to listen, take action and make the most of what your community tells you.
#1: Make a Customer Service Plan
It’s important to have a plan for managing customer service on social media.
First, define a clear social media strategy. Draw how you can use social media to support business objectives to build and maintain relationships with your target audience.
#2: Train Your Staff
Stress the importance of customer sentiment and explain how positive and negative reviews can impact your business.
Also, provide a list of potential questions they’ll need to respond to. Include examples of negative and positive feedback.
Lastly, have a manager or experienced customer service representative walk through live responses with employees, ensuring they’re prepared to do the job on their own.
#3: Address Complaints and Take Action
If customers leave negative feedback on social media, address their issues directly online or ask them to email you to take things offline. Although you typically can’t remove a negative post, other customers will see that you’ve responded to the complaint, giving them confidence that the company is listening and cares about its customers.
#4: Ask for Feedback
ask customers to consider leaving reviews on your social channels.
You can encourage customers to post on Facebook or leave an online review.
#5: Look for New Opportunities
Feedback across social channels can be useful for developing new products fueled by consumer demand, and later supporting the sales funnel (and your sales partners along the way).
#6: Share Customer Insights
Share customer feedback throughout your company.
To be successful, you need to have clear customer service processes in place. Also, listen carefully to community feedback to support your business goals—from introducing new products based on customer demand to creating a positive brand perception.
