According to Nielsen’s 2012 Social Media Report, over 50% of customers use some type of social channel to engage companies to report satisfaction, ask questions, and lodge complaints. One third of consumers prefer social customer service to getting answers by phone.
We have not seen a shift like this in customer support in several decades. It calls for fresh strategies to create the type of relationships that your customers expect, new technologies to maintain efficiency, and updated processes to keep increasingly frazzled customers engaged.
How are you preparing to embrace the opportunities presented by social and community-based customer service?
Whether you are a large brand that mainly uses the big public social networks, a B2B company that supports customers 24×7 in a private online community, or a membership organization that keeps member informed and engaged in private member communities, it is important to have a firm grasp on the new realities of customer support in the age of social media.
The following are three useful articles to help you plan your social customer service strategy and online support community. These tips will also help you educate those within your organization about the impending rise of community-based customer engagement.
Secrets for Exemplary Customer Service
Get concise tips from 20 top customer service professionals for improving your customer experience and meeting the expectations of today’s digitally-oriented customers. Many of these principles can be applied directly to your online customer support community.
A Peek Into the Future of the Customer Service Department
Customers are increasingly turning to online channels for support with using your products and services. According to Forrester Research, customers have increased their use of self service by 12%, live chat by 24% and customer communities by 25% in the past three years. Find out what this means for the structure and skills of your customer service team and how they must evolve.
4 Roles for the Future Customer: Beyond Advocacy to Action
With the unyielding growth in customer-to-customer (C2C) communication, how can your organization harness this trend to grow your business and increase customer satisfaction? Get a framework for segmenting your customer advocates to capitalize on their strengths and orientation toward your company.
The bottom line is that times are changing. Customers have more control and higher expectations that at any other time in history. However, this is more of an opportunity for most organizations than a challenge. These articles offer concrete tips for capitalizing on these changes to boost customer loyalty and repeat business.
