When you read the survey that says 71% of customer complaints sent via Twitter meet with no response, you realize that for many companies, having a Twitter account is more about lip service then any actual service.
Of course, ‘no response’ doesn’t have to equate with ‘no reaction’ but with half of the surveyed group expecting a response, there’s a definite disconnect. And indeed, many businesses ‘going social’ seem to be almost dutifully checking off the boxes on a perceived social media checklist. facebook page? Check. Twitter account? Check. YouTube channel? Check. Customer forum? Working on it… Blog? Check.
The question is—what’s it doing for their customers?
I’m not advocating that each tweeted or facebooked complaint should be answered individually, and definitely not that customers taking advantage of public complaining should be catered to. Rather, I’m suggesting that social media should be taken seriously as a tool for customer service.
This does mean being responsive, but shouldn’t simply mean reacting to online buzz in order to appease customers or deflate crises. The bigger picture is to listen to customers and act on insights that can improve products and services. I’ve said it before: Why wait for a social media crisis to fix what’s broken? (See my previous blogpost where I argue that listening and social media management belong in Customer Service—instead of Marketing where they’re commonly found).
Chances are, of course, that companies that aren’t doing customer service well in social media just aren’t doing customer service well. Improving service based on the voice-of-the-customer can apply to insights obtained from any channel. KANA’s software enables businesses to listen across channels—social and otherwise—and distills big picture insights and small. Actionable insights. By integrating social media management and social listening with overall customer service processes, businesses are empowered to do much more with their social presence than just check off the ‘social’ box and handle one-offs.
For example, beyond the social ‘metric’ everyone likes to tout—the number of ‘Likes’ assigned to a product, brand or service—it can be far more meaningful to identify topics and trends in the customer conversation. An increase in the usage of a word or string of words can alert a business to an emerging problem so that it can be handled before it snowballs. Identifying a question repeatedly asked in a social environment may, for instance, signal a gap in the website’s knowledgebase—hence, the need to ask the community. Case in point, KANA customer Avery Dennison uses KANA’s listening software to identify the most-asked questions in its community forum. Posting the relevant answers online has cut calls to the contact center along with associated costs. For customers, service is improved because they can get access to the information they need quickly.
So, what of customer service in social media? As with service in any channel, listening to customers is a first step. Taking action on any insights gained to improve products or services is what makes that ’listening’ meaningful. And it’s also, I believe, where the real ROI will come from in terms of investing in a social media presence.
(Vikas Nehru is VP, Product Marketing, KANA)