Social Media & Customer Service

In today’s world of digital media we have come to expect near immediate solutions when we inquire for information. This could be something as simple as sending a text message to a friend to a more complex question such as what is the square root of Pi. With search engines like Google, and Siri available to help filter information we no longer need to go to a library and spend hours researching in the encyclopedia to find anything.

This expectation has become increasingly popular with business and customer service. With avenues such as Facebook Messenger, and direct messaging via Twitter, customers are expecting a nearly immediate response to their questions from a business. The times of being able to respond within 24 hours are gone. The average time someone is looking to receive a response is within 25 – 30 minutes maximum. Do you have someone who is managing inbound social media and alternative requests? Do you have standards in place so that everyone is on the same page and responses remain consistent? Do you have an action plan should something go wrong?

Who manages your Inbound (Social Media and/or Email)?

Whether it is someone in your Customer Service, Marketing, or Administrative department, or your company relies on a third party, ensuring that all inquires are addressed in a professional, timely and informative manner is imperative. The days of an auto-response giving you a day to provide information are gone, potential customers are making purchase decisions very quickly based on information they are able to attain online. This means that if someone is asking a question, the expectation is that information will be provided very quickly.

Be sure that the person(s) managing your inbound know where they can find answers quickly and that it is okay to let a customer know that their request has been received and to expect a response within X amount of time. Giving a time and ensuring that a response is provided is very important to maintaining your credibility as a business.