The new communication channel in today's world is now Twitter and this has provided customers with an entirely new kind of influence where they can openly express their thought and comments and these would be visible to public. The opinion of customers is now capable of reaching thousands or even millions of people within a short period just by tweeting a message. Sadly, however this is the fact that negative comment is more likely to be re-tweeted and spread all over the internet society.
The latest data shows that lots of organizations are not sufficiently attending to the messages posted on social media by their customers, citing delay in response times and not appreciating or understanding them as being the key problems. Thus, if you'd like to get in touch with your customers via Twitter, below are our best tips on how to get it right and efficient.
It is important to have the aim to endeavor to form a relationship with your customers even though you cannot see them personally. After all, social media is all about communication and interaction. The amount of time you spend online interacting with your customers really matters, and more time you spend on it - the better your relationship will be. Therefore, if you are tweeted at, respond and, more importantly, respond quickly. If your message is retweeted, appreciate the person’s feedback and initiate a conversation; they are most likely to follow you directly if they see you care about what they say and about their concerns and, what is very important, others see it as well!
Reacting to every post that concerns your business is extremely important, don’t just reply the negative posts only. Positivity produces positivity, so spread the good news at all times as well. Do not only spread yours, also spread that of your customers.
Timing is extremely important in customer service, especially when we talk about social media interaction. The major problem with handling complaints on social media is mostly about the response time. There are lots of negative situations that grew out of proportion just for the reason that the customer was not responded in reasonable time.
Twitter is an instantaneous medium, so it does not do you any good to respond to a post a week after the initial comment was tweeted. Imagine you went to a store and express your complaint to one of the workers, you don’t expect that it will take him hours to reply you; you would need an answer immediately. If this is not the case – that is very frustrating to you.
The same way you should treat social media; keep an eye on what is being said and when they say it, and ensure you take control of the situation as fast as possible. We have witnessed several possibly destructive discussions end positively, just on account of someone responding rapidly and taking care of the case.
Twitter has a 140-character limit, and this makes it impossible to provide an all-inclusive reply to a complaint or query from a customer. Nevertheless, all that is required of you is to open up a communication line. An easy apology is normally sufficient to carry on the positive conversation.
Even though you might not wish for your conversation to be seen by others, you must keep in mind that the initial complaint has been made public and there is nothing you can do concerning it. Why don’t you just put it out there and let people know that you are really trying to do your best. There may be other people who would like to follow the conversation just to know how you deal with the problem and this is a big plus for you if handled a case which is visible in Twitter correctly and to the complete satisfaction of that customer.
Sure there are several conversations that ought to be kept private, however, the customers truly do not like being transferred from one department to another via the telephone, they likewise do not appreciate being tossed around online, hence, the best thing is to ensure that the communication is maintained on only one platform and get to the resolution of the matter as soon as possible.
Just like everything related to social, it is all about communication. It's never a joyful thing to read negative comments regarding your company on Twitter or other social media and it is very easy to be offended and tempting to quickly react, but we definitely suggest not doing it.
It is usually worth it when you take the time to reach the source of the problem instead of merely reading the complaint and tweeting. Most times customers complain the instant they are upset and emotions are still very high – at times it is more or less an instantaneous reaction– and what they are really moaning about is not what caused their dissatisfaction in the first instance.
Strike up a conversation and discover what exactly the actual problem is. When you give it the required attention, trust me when I tell you it is usually easier to resolve the problem ultimately. And, referring you to the initial point, customer engagement will certainly improve.
Creating the perfect overall experience for your customer including social media communication is all about personalizing your service, and this is equally applicable to your online service as well. You must keep in mind that each customer is distinct, with different reasons for patronizing your business and different reasons they are dissatisfied. You'll fail to endear yourself to them if you treat everyone the exact same way. You must find time to individually respond to what is, in any case, to that customer would be the unique experience.
Some businesses say that there are hundreds of thousands of customers and they do not need to take care of each of them – if some go – new ones come. However the pint is that, if your company image is harmed, the flow of new customers can drain. Social media has the power to make things go viral and before you say something, millions of other customers will become aware of your bad service, and its main indication would be not only the complaint itself, but the way you handled the situation.
Truth be told, without your customers, you wouldn’t have any business in the first place and so you must care for every single one of them if you still want to see them around. Overlook one and watch as all the others disappear. Providing excellent customer service is possibly the most important means anyone can make use of to generate new and repeat business by improving the loyalty and retention of customers. Given that almost all businesses are online nowadays including Twitter and other social media, you must ensure that you know the way to reply in case things go wrong. You obviously cannot stop people from posting negative comments. The way you handle them can – this is what makes the huge difference on the whole experience, and can either make or break your reputation online. Social Media is a very powerful tool. Keep it in mind and utilize it property as faults in it can cause a lot of damage to your business, and vice versa, its effective use is the great tool to promote your brand.
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