What’s better than a solution that benefits a company and its customers? Online customer interactions are more prevalent now than ever and offer so many benefits to all parties involved. Offering quick and flexible customer support through platforms like Twitter helps brands establish better connections with customers and improve customer satisfaction.
Twitter is one of the best platforms to utilize for conversations and customer support. It’s fast-paced and designed for easy interaction, so it’s no wonder why when consumers need easy access to support and help from brands, they turn to Twitter. It’s likely that there is already chatter surrounding your brand on Twitter that you should be continuously aware of. Being active on Twitter doesn’t only mean responding to complaints but also showing your gratitude for your customers and providing assistance when your customers need it.
Let’s discuss some tips on creating an effective Twitter customer service strategy that will satisfy your customers and showcase your company’s values.
DEFINE YOUR TWITTER CUSTOMER SERVICE STRATEGY
The first step in creating your social media customer service plan is defining the scope of the services you’ll offer and how you’ll offer them. Ask yourself what’s going to work best for your individual brand. For example, some companies respond to their customers’ support-related mentions through their main Twitter accounts. This doesn’t necessarily work for every company, so some have a separate account dedicated solely to customer support. It’s also important to think about how you want your customers to contact you—do you want them to use a specific hashtag, or do you want them to mention your account in the tweet?
RESPOND QUICKLY
It’s vital that your customer support matches the fast-paced nature of Twitter. To keep up, you should communicate frequently and set timing expectations for your support team. Determine what hours during the day your account will be monitored so that you can develop guidelines on how quickly customers should expect a response. A Sprout social index study revealed that 79% of Twitter users expect a response within the first 24 hours, so a good general response timing plan may be to respond within one hour during business hours and to tweets sent after-hours within 12 hours. Also, don’t forget to keep your customers in the loop when people aren’t monitoring the account due to technical errors, holidays, or any unexpected events.
KNOW WHAT YOU CAN HELP WITH
Obviously, you won’t be able to handle every customer’s complaint or answer everyone’s question in 280 characters, so you must clarify guidelines for escalating customer service requests to different platforms. When a customer reaches out with a concern involving a complicated issue, personal data, or a sensitive issue moving out of the public eye is the way to go. Asking a customer to send you a more detailed DM, linking your support team, or providing a phone number where you can assist them are a few ways to respond to customers that may need more in-depth or private help.
SHOW YOUR PERSONALITY
Even though you’re responding to customer service requests or complaints, you still want to keep your brand’s voice so that your personality doesn’t get lost. Twitter provides a powerful platform to build your brand’s reputation. Social media, especially Twitter, is personal, and creating personalized, engaging responses for each customer is a great way to maintain and showcase your brand’s unique personality. If your brand voice is more relaxed and humorous, try to incorporate that tone into your response when assisting a customer. However, always read the room and make sure your response is appropriate for the sensitivity and subject of the customer’s request.
ACKNOWLEDGE FEEDBACK
No customer wants to be ignored, especially if they are upset. Ignoring or not accepting responsibility for negative feedback toward your brand online can be a bad look for your business. Showing your customers that you care about them and want to make an effort to improve is the best way to respond to negativity. It’s also just as important to follow up on conversations with positive feedback. Not only will your other customers see that a customer was satisfied with their purchase, but also they will recognize your appreciation for your customers.
Companies must embrace social customer service to keep up with their competitors and satisfy their customers. Having good customer service is a vital part of your brand’s reputation. Help yourselves and your customers at the same time by taking advantage of the tips above to implement an effective Twitter customer service plan.
At New Target, we can help with your social marketing strategy and help you better engage with your valued customers. Contact our digital marketing team and follow us on Twitter!