Over the past few years at Beyond Philosophy we have been banging the drum that social media can provide an effective channel for engaging with your customers at a time when they need it the most – when they turn outside the traditional channels for help.
The rise of social media has created communties and hubs on the web for customers to come together, seek solutions and solace in other customers troubles. Although this behaviour has existed for years in forums, there are now dedicated sites such as GetSatisfaction to providing a platform for customers to vent their fury. The shift in power back to the consumer has been amplified by the domination of social networks such as a Facebook and Twitter, where the behaviour of customers talking to other customers has become commonplace.
Organisations can choose to ignore this landscape at their own peril. In reality, the scary prospect of entering into this online space should be viewed as an enormous opportunity to engage with customers at multiple touchpoints in their consumer journey. The value of social media is having an actual person at the helm, which can provide customers with a chance to engage with an emphathetic arm of your organisation that isn’t yet another standardised complaints form. Over on the eConsultancy blog they refer to this rise as a call for brands to create a “truly cross-channel cross-platform customer experience that allows businesses to deliver on their customer service promise.“
“In this paradigm, the customer experience becomes the service. Indeed, in many instances, a positive experience supersedes the need for a positive resolution”
Read the excellent original eConsultancy post here
