The Importance of Customer Service via Social Media

Back in November, I presented an intro to Twitter workshop at the North Hill Business Education Centre. During the presentation, I outlined the various reasons for businesses to have a presence on Twitter – most of these tend to be fairly obvious to any business owner, but one of them seemed to stand out the most for attendees: the importance of customer service via social media.

First of all, let’s take a look at the normal customer service channels we’ve become familiar with. We’re often given 1-800 numbers to call if we run into any issues, but let’s face it – we end up being transferred to multiple departments, placed on hold for hours, and then speaking to someone who is – yet again – from the wrong department. Not helpful, and a complete time-waster.

In recent years, many companies have set up help forums on their websites. You can search for your problem and see if a solution has already been posted, and in some cases you can post your own question to the public forum and wait for an answer. Not as terrible as the phone calls, but not always the best option.

Now look at social media. You’ll often find that when a customer has a question or complaint about a company, they’ll go straight to Twitter or Facebook. The reason? It’s the quickest way to get the company’s attention. No brand wants negative feedback in the public eye, so they’ll be sure to resolve it to the customer’s satisfaction as soon as possible.

On a personal level, I’ve used Twitter for this very reason on multiple occasions. Without naming names, the companies I had a negative experience with were quick to fix the problem and go the extra mile. In one particular case, a company incorrectly charged me for services and products I  hadn’t ordered. I emailed and called their customer service and was only offered credit toward their products – no refund. This wasn’t acceptable to me, so I went to Twitter and made my issue public as a warning to their other potential customers. Not one minute after I posted they connected with me and offered a full refund and a great deal of help, and I’ve continued to be their customer. All because of Twitter.

This is a perfect example of why your business needs to utilize social media properly as an effective customer service tool. It can mean the difference between an unhappy ex-customer and a satisfied long-term one.