Social media as a customer service tool
Social media. Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. Whether you love or hate them, as an eCommerce site owner, they’re essential and extremely useful customer service tools for your business.
Sure, they’re also great for broadcasting stuff about your brand and sharing related content – but communication is a two way street.
If you use social media to promote your business, be aware that customers can – and will – use any channels you set up to contact you directly. So you may as well embrace the fact and optimise the opportunity!
If you’re not a Facebook fan or find tweeting a little troublesome, don’t fret. As customer service platforms, once you’ve familiarised yourself with how they work, they’re really just like any other conversation-led channel.
Lots of people use social media to ask businesses for help and advice online – about products, services, delivery times – as well as to air concerns. The only difference between social and, say, a call centre, is that they’re doing it somewhere very open… meaning other customers can see your interactions.
But that doesn’t mean you should shy away from dealing with customers publicly – and it’d be a mistake to avoid answering those who use social media to complain. Being responsive, helpful, patient, and polite – especially when dealing with complaints – can reflect on you and your company very positively. After all, customer service for your business is paramount.
Show customers that your business is ready to engage! Set up some social media channels and invite questions. Openness, honesty, and proactivity go a long way to building relationships and guaranteeing that customer retention of yours.
Need some quick tips?
You don’t need to set up profiles on every social media platform. Pick one or two and see what your customers prefer – and which you feel most comfortable using.
Consistency is key, once you have your chosen platforms, be sure to set out a clear structure of how this is utilised.
Explore the pros and cons of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or if you prefer one-to-one communication, look at WhatsApp and Messenger.
Be friendly, direct, and helpful in your responses (remember, others are watching too!).
Set customer expectations by saying when you’ll respond to questions in your profile bio – eg 9-5 Monday to Friday.
Consider using a social media dashboard tool – like Hootsuite – to get an overview of all incoming queries.
Speak to Shoponomy, we would be happy to help guide and advise the best course of action for your business.