As one of the largest and most popular social networks on the internet today, Twitter has taken on a myriad of roles. One use of Twitter that has gained enormous traction is customer service. Customers and consumers alike are logging in to connect with the brands and businesses that they buy from and interact with on a daily basis. These brands, that are online with a Twitter account, are then catapulted into the land of social media customer service. This is a field of customer service where all of your moves are seen and read; therefore, it is imperative that brand’s words and actions are thought out very carefully.
From Kimberlee Morrison on AdWeek:
Many consumers, and some forward thinking businesses realize that Twitter’s short and instant format make the platform perfect for customer service. With more than 50 percent of Twitter users engaging with brands, it’s imperative that brands capitalize on this energy. What may be even more important is Twitter creating opportunities for business to understand the conversations taking place.
Other platforms, like Facebook, allow for similar interaction with added tools to make that interaction easier and just a little more private. For example, Facebook has launched ‘Business’ on Facebook Messenger. This feature allows brands to communicate directly with customers to answer questions, allow them to track packages, respond to complaints, etc. For Twitter users, the Twitter platform can be an even simpler and more direct way to communicate their needs or complaints in a single tweet. Unfortunately, right now, Twitter does not yet have any added tools to help businesses with customer service issues on their platform.
I would encourage brands to take a look at several different Twitter accounts of other brands that handle a high traffic of customer service related tweets (and do so effectively). If you have a small business, you can probably spend a little more time responding to individual interactions. It’s almost always a good idea to politely acknowledge the commenter’s complaint or issue and ask that they contact you via email, DM, phone etc. so that you can see to the issue right away.
The thing about customer service on social media is that it can go very good very fast and also very sour very fast. Because it can be very hit-and-miss, it’s important that your brand takes some time to formulate a social media customer service strategy. People are looking to spend less time on hold and more time with results. Twitter is a very quick way for customers to review your products or service for the public to see. You want to be sure that you are one step ahead of this type of interaction in any way that you can be.
This doesn’t have to be a daunting interaction. Twitter can be a great asset for consumers to put their trust in a brand that has chosen to be transparent and available. You just have to be sure that you’re handling concerns appropriately.
Have any questions or anything to add? Need help managing your company’s Twitter (or any other social media) account? Comment below!
