Customer Service and Social Media

Things are moving fast now. We want recognition and ingratiation that our issues with products and services are being addressed. I am not talking about the cursory automated email that says "thank you for your comments, we will respond to your email within 7 business days." Seven business days? That is like a week and a half. By the time I receive a response I will have stewed and fretted about it to the point whereby I will never use that company again. Statistics show that over 70% of customers who receive bad customer service leave and go to a competitor.

With Social Media, if a customer has an issue they want an answer via that platform within 60 minutes. If not, then they feel as though their business is not appreciated. Every year, billions are lost, $338 billion to be exact, due to companies not realizing the importance of a robust and responsive customer service SOP. Sure, they have customer service tel. numbers, they have customer service departments, but is there something in place to deal with the posts, un-likes, un-follows, etc? Just having a company page on Facebook, Linkedin, or Twitter because someone in the marketing department told you, you had to is not enough. You have to incorporate your social media marketing plan with your customer service plan. It has to be live and reactive to your clients concerns and needs.

Currently, 100 million people in North America have and use a handheld device. They use this device 10+ times a day on average. Our culture has changed from a patient, "I can wait 7 days for a response" to one that wants a response now. Not tomorrow, not whenever we get around to it, now. 70% of customers are willing to spend 13% more if they feel they will receive a higher level of customer service from a company. On average, if a customer receives poor service, they will tell 9 people. It takes about 12 positive experiences to erase the ripple effects of a negative experience.

Studies do show, that it has to be a mix of both. Your customer service portfolio has to include both in-person, and on-line customer service SOP's. More mature individuals like the P2P contact, while the younger more tech savvy gurus like the online social media response. Regardless of how the contact occurs, one thing is for sure, your response time has to be immediate. Clearly, failure to realize the importance of having a reactive customer service model means a loss of business, and a loss of money. Can your company afford not to embrace the social media customer service model?