Brand trends : social media emerges as the default channel for customer service

Customer service online has almost come about as a surprise result of social media for brands. Where it was first embraced as a unique channel to carry out one to one communication with your target audience, it was a bit of a shock when it stopped being just about marketing, as we found that customers were willing to talk back. And they weren’t always happy. The marketing department then had to start talking to the customer service department, with reps quickly turning their focus onto social media to make sure customers’ needs were met and crises were (hopefully!) avoided.

Indeed, it is not unknown for those seeking to measure the benefits of social media, to find ROI in the cost-savings made by having to hire less call centre staff, as customers turned to online channels, forming communities to often help each other out.

62% use social media for support

Zendesk have recently conducted research among a group of consumers, into how they use social media for customer service. They found that 62% of respondents had used a social media channel for customer support from a brand, with the majority of respondents also claiming that they would be more likely to use this channel if they had a deeper understanding of it:

The fact that there is such a huge percentage of customers using social media tools not only comes down to the ease of use of social media, but also because it turns customer service on its head and puts the user very much in charge. Whereas you were once at the mercy of the organisation, essentially powerless, now you can send a very public message to the company, with public updates on the process so you can easily let your followers know if things aren’t going all that well. Scary for brands? Yes, but it’s also a good thing as it forces companies to get their houses in order.

Customer service 2.0

Now that we know customers have a high interest in using social media channels for customer support, it’s the responsibility of brands to get innovative and use this to its full potential. While a few brands are paving the way here, with some great case studies of brands providing innovative customer support, we now need to progress onto the next stage. The brands that get our attention are those that respond to customer’s problems in innovative ways, or handling a social media crisis expertly. But we need to see social media being used to change the whole customer service process, instead of essentially being a fancy form of email.

This is where data comes in. As brands are building up more and more data on their customers through social media, this should be fed through to the customer service department, to predict or pre-empt customer problems, as well as providing a higher brand experience overall.

Brands need to catch up

As consumer interest in social media grows, many brands still risk getting left behind and not offering their customers the experience they seek. Gartner recently reported that 35% of customer service centres will have social media capabilities by 2013. This is far too low, especially when contrasted with the 62% of customers that are already using social media for customer support. Now is the time for brands to start catching up and realising that social media isn’t just about the fun, sexy side of marketing but that there is a very real job to be done, to bring customer service up to date to retain and attract new customers.