Customer Service In the Social Media Age

What is This Presentation About? The impacts of social media and internet review sites on business today The growth of social media and what is driving it The customers new found voice and how it is used to refer good businesses and complain about the not so good Discuss the type of complaints and how to deal with them Review some examples of complaints and responses But first let’s remind ourselves of traditional customer service

Traditional Customer Service What is good service? Always doing the right things the right way for customers Why should we do it? Customer satisfaction; leads to loyalty and improved profits What is in it for my customers? Easier to deal with you and they will repeat business. They are happy How do you know you are doing it right? Repeat business and your customers recommend you to others

Traditional Customer Methods of Complaint The soft option of writing to you and probably delivered by or fax. The not so soft option of telephone call. In this scenario the total senses used are hearing and speech no visual interaction with the customer. Face to face this means of complaint are usually the most successful as the customer and your business representative can quickly pick up on body language signals and most times reach a satisfactory outcome. Finally if you cannot settle the customers complaint you might get a visit from…….

What is Social Media? Dictonary.com define Social Media as: “websites and other online means of communication that are used by large groups of people to share information and to develop social and professional contacts”

Examples of Social Media and Internet Review Sites Some well known social media used by a large spread of demographics Examples of Internet review sites

Not So Smart Phones Do we remember these iconic means of communication? They were great for calls and text and later versions even had a camera. It is not that long ago!! Weighed nearly a kilo.

Smart Phones

Information Anywhere Smart phones embraced by over 11 million Australians Able to communicate with network easily A generation that is now use to the ease of information gathering They will use online information to review businesses They listen what their network peers are saying Same generation now moving into buying positions in companies

Amazing Rise of Facebook from Zero to 1.11 Billion ++

2013 Facts YouTube 1 billion monthly users: 4 billion views per day Facebook 1.11 billion active users Apple 1 million apps LinkedIn 225 million professional users Australian survey found: 34% of social media users logged on at work 13% at schools 18% in the car 49% in bed, what is wrong with sleep and other things? 7% in the bathroom 6% in the toilet ???? By 2015 it is estimated 60% of the world’s population will be internet users

Internet Blogs Customers now have a powerful voice. Good service will get recommends to a smaller network than bad service. This is not new, but now the audience is huge, this is new Some differing customer review sites: Travel Restaurants Companies products and service Hotels To many to list: Lets take a look at some comments.

Examples Viewed 1928 times Actual client reviews Extracts from actual posted reviews Client reviews of a company’s performance are a strong Influence on others buying decision.

Owner blaming customer. In full public view Other client reviews Engaging the customer publicly Is not a good strategy

This is a facebook post. Look At the number of likes. This post was also a feature in a News article. The customer got a full refund From the dealer. The dealership is based in Brisbane & is named in the original post. See how Hyundai dealt with the post. They took it private.

Social Media Complaints Four main type of complaints: 1.Straight problems The customer can pinpoint the problem with a product or service 2.Constructive criticism The customer mentions how a product/service can be improved 3.Merited attack Your company did something wrong and someone is angry about it 4.Trolling Difficult person for no reason other than to get reactions or make your company look bad

How to handle complaints If necessary take it off line Respond publicly, follow up privately Plan for social media complaints Never Ignore a comment Speak in the right way Never delete a customer’s post Be open, honest and transparent Don’t be afraid of negative feedback Use negative feedback as an opportunity to learn and grow Don’t be an ostrich Don’t feed the trolls

Social Media Use In Marketing Social Media in the past 5-10 years has changed marketing strategies Not only do we have traditional marketing methods of outbound lead generation Flyers Cold calling Trade shows We now have inbound marketing systems. Web 2 has changed how marketing has been conducted for decades. We now have : Search engine optimisation strategies Landing pages Content management Lead intelligence Social media itself Blogs The understanding and handling of social media complaints must become part of the overall marketing strategy of any business

Any Questions or Feedback ? Please contact Us