16 Nov How to Take Social Customer Care to the Next Level
Anyone familiar with social media community management knows that a good portion of the job involves customer service care. Some days, it feels like the questions and complaints never end and the work community managers usually enjoy can unfortunately become monotonous and stale. Giving the same canned answer might seem like an easy way to reduce the workload, but those kinds of shortcuts can end up hurting your brand down the road. Fans know when they’re being fed a copy-paste response, so a little creativity and personalization can go long a way in making a positive impression on an upset consumer. On the other hand, there’s always room for originality when it comes to responding to consumers’ compliments, too! A satisfied customer’s memorable interaction with you can turn him or her into a brand advocate. Here’s a sample of brands who are stepping it up and taking social customer care to the next level:
One of Ignite’s own Community Managers, Meghan Hardy, experienced the power of thoughtful customer service from AT&T U-verse on Twitter. Meghan tweeted at them about how responsive their representatives were and how her DVR was replaced in less than half an hour:
A huge Florida Gators fan, Meghan loved the personal touch that AT&T U-verse put into their response to her shout out. This community manager clearly put effort into checking out Meghan’s Twitter profile and tailoring the brand’s response to her. What’s more, AT&T U-verse went above and beyond the call of customer care by delivering Meghan a package full of Gators swag to get her pumped for the introduction of SEC Network content on her TV subscription. Needless to say, she was thrilled:
One of the most popular gaming consoles is seriously on top of its customer support game. Besides the fact that they’re extremely efficient in responding to a never-ending volume of queries, Xbox Support is just plain friendly—its customer support uses inclusive and casual language on social when helping its users. This makes it feel like solving your problem is a team effort—Xbox has your back and sincerely wants to help make the most of your gaming experience:
According to its account, Xbox holds the Guinness World Record for being the most responsive brand on Twitter. With 2.25 million tweets and counting, we’d have to agree.
Hyatt
More often than not, social media has its limits— some customer service problems end up with a brand directing a user to make a separate call or email to get further assistance. This frustrating second step is all but now eliminated with Hyatt’s transition of customer service care to Facebook Messenger. Hyatt is one of the first brands to do this, and it’s working out nicely for its guests. Many problems are streamlined and can be solved right then and there within the messaging app. It’s also a great solution if guests don’t feel comfortable tweeting at brands publically with their problems and would rather have a real time, one-on-one conversation with a representative. We’re curious to see what other brands across various industries will make a similar step like Hyatt with its customer service.
Freaky fast delivery, freaky fast social responses. Jimmy John’s approach to customer service care is much more casual than any other fast-food restaurant on Twitter, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t effective. The sandwich chain’s community manager employs a number of techniques to make a customer’s experience more personal, including writing in the first person, using slang and gifs, and taking the blame when something goes wrong.
Which brands have blown you away with their excellent customer service on social media? Let us know in the comments below!
