social media, meet customer service!

A N A L L I A N C E T H AT B LU R S BO U N DA R I E S

SOCIAL MEDIA, MEET CUSTOMER SERVICE!

BIG TOPIC, LITTLE TIME

SOCIAL MEDIA &CUSTOME

R SERVICE

TAKE-AWAYS FOR TONIGHT

• Old School customer service is about being reactive. SocialCustomerMediaService is about being proactive as much as reactive

• The same basic principles of customer service apply, but bring your "A" game because now you are on the worldwide stage

• Always respond; never not respond (unless it is to unwarranted hostility or insanity); better late than never, but best immediately

• Be timely. Be topical. Be relevant. Be irreverent. Create customer deals tied in with current events / weather / etc.

• The lines between marketing, PR, sales, and service are blurred

AND FINALLY…

• Go looking for trouble!• Conduct ongoing

vigilance for your product or company name • Identify problems

before they come looking for you, and address them proactively!

FIRST, SOME DEFINITIONS

• Social Media: “a set of technologies and channels targeted at forming and enabling a potentially massive community of participants to productively collaborate.”

- Anthony J. Bradley, Gartner, Inc.

DEFINITIONS CONT.

• Customer Service: “any interaction between a customer / prospect and any member of an organization that is offering something of perceived value.” – Chuck Dennis, Knowledgence Associates

EVOLUTION, PART 1

• Customer service started as a necessity

• Eventually, the quality of customer service became a prime differentiator between businesses

EVOLUTION, PART 2

• Social media started as

fun stuff

• Businesses saw this and said “We wanna play, too!” (and, maybe, make some money…)

SOON, OPPORTUNITIES BEGAN TO REVEAL THEMSELVES TO BUSINESSES

• Words from happy customers = $$$!

• Words from UNhappy customers = not so much

THE DAWNING OF SOCIALCUSTOMERMEDIASERVICE!

GREAT IDEA, BUT IT WASN’T ALWAYS PRETTY

• Some businesses chose to “argue” with customers about their products / services / actions

OTHERS WOULD IGNORE NEGATIVITY

STILL OTHERS WOULD SIMPLY SPOUT THE SAME OLD SAME OLD

• “For customer service, please call us at 1-800-YOU-LOSE• press 5 for ‘Customer Service’ • press 1 for ‘English’ • press 3 for ‘a live agent’ • and then be prepared to wait several

hours while we find someone who will speak with you. In the meantime, here’s some nice Kenny G music to listen to.”

SOCIALCUSTOMERMEDIASERVICEIT’S NEW! IT’S IMPROVED! IT’S OLD FASHIONED!

The medium / platform has evolved, but the rules of great service remain the same

1. First, shut up and LISTEN2. Second, if there is a problem, apologize

immediately for the customer’s inconvenience 3. Third, inform customer of what you are going to

do 4. Fourth, do it!5. Fifth, inform customer of what you have done, and

ASK if that is satisfactory6. Sixth, if warranted, put a cherry on top

SOCIAL MEDIA & THE ANGRY CUSTOMER

• Angry Customers typically want 3 things:

1. to be heard2. to have their problem

resolved ASAP3. to be apologized to

and/or compensated for their inconvenience

Social Media gives you the opportunity to do all of these

THE DIFFERENCE? TRANSPARENCY!

• Let everyone see how well you take care of your customers!• Most people do not expect perfection, but they do

expect you to clean up your mess

ENCOURAGE HAPPY CUSTOMERS TO BE PART OF YOUR TEAM

• Provide forums or communities where customers can speak freely, asking questions & providing answers• Businesses should participate, but not dominate!• The best company spokespeople are happy

customers

WHY IS SOCIAL MEDIA CRUCIAL FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE?

• 75% of Americans use some sort of social media • 15 minutes of every hour online is spent on

social media • More than 750 million active users on Facebook • People spend over 700 billion minutes per

month on Facebook• Approximately 200 million Twitter users • 110 million tweets sent per day • 1300 tweets sent per second• over 100 million LinkedIn users• 490 million unique YouTube visitors per month

COST-SAVINGS BY EFFECTIVE SOCIALCUSTOMERMEDIASERVICE

• When customer’s needs are not met by social media• 42% will call Customer Service - $15 per

interaction• 17% will use email - $3 per interaction• 16% will use online chat - $5 per interaction• 1.6% will visit retail location - $20 per

interaction• The rest will give up and take their business

elsewhere

SO, WHAT TOOLS ARE BEST FOR WHAT?

• Facebook – ubiquitous but limited to those you’ve already connected with

• Twitter – short & sweet, open to everyone• YouTube – open to everyone, provides

entertainment and product instruction & repair• LinkedIn – serious business site, but you need to

be connected to your audience• Yelp, Foursquare, Gowalla all use geolocation to

speak with and make offers to “local” customers• Sponsored or independent forums &

communities – great for all of the above

SOCIALCUSTOMERMEDIASERVICE METRICS

•What do you measure?• Responsiveness• Complaints• Praise•Quick resolutions•Units sold

ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE (1)

• Best Buy’s “Twelpforce”• 2500 BB employees from across all aspects of the

business • Using Twitter, answer product questions, give

recommendations, troubleshoot technology challenges and solve customer service issues

ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE (2)

• Major Airlines• Provide immediate and accurate updates on

delays & cancellations• Utilize tools such as Radian6 or Clarabridge to

monitor social media for any problems from any traveller• If you don’t jump in & help your customer, your

competitor just might!

ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE (3)

• Zappos• Made excellent service

“cool” & “fun”• Starts at the top with

blogging CEO• Immediate service on

Twitter • Goofy home-made videos on YouTube• All combined to make them the online shoe store

of choice (and purchased by Amazon for $1.2 Billion)

ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE (4)

• Morton’s Steakhouse • Weary business traveller - as a joke –

tweets request for steak to meet him @ airport when he lands• Hah-Hah! Morton’s does it!• Much huh-bub since: is this great

service or a PR stunt on Morton’s part?I think it is both, with some marketing& sales strategy mixed in• Talk about over the top, proactive business sense!

FINAL THOUGHTS

• Some pooh-pooh SocialCustomerMediaService • It’s only used as a last resort when other channels

are clogged, or just suck• It’s an electronic way to “cut to the head of the

line” in the customer service queue• It’s the electronic equivalent of going to a store

and pulling a nutty until you get attention, like a 3 year old

To those people, I say “Yeah? So?”

FINAL THOUGHTS

• If it helps improve service in the world of commerce, then it’s good• If it makes old methods of service obsolete, then

it’s really good • if it makes customers happy, then it’s freakin’

great!

Innovations like SocialCustomerMediaService keep pushing the envelope, and everyone reaps the benefits!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

Want to know more? Let’s talk!

Chuck DennisKnowledgence Associatescedennis@knowledgence.com(617) 909-0176@AngryCustomer