“If you are not taking care of your customer, your competitor will.” – Bob Hooey
With consumers using Twitter to talk about the products they use, it makes sense that so many people want customer service via Twitter. In fact, 85% of surveyed Twitter users said that it’s essential to have a business provide customer support on Twitter.
If you aren’t using Twitter as a customer service tool, you could be missing the boat. With Twitter’s features, you can easily and quickly respond to your customers. Not only does this help you build your reputation, but also creates a strong loyalty among consumers.
Twiends is dedicated to helping you grow your Twitter account the right way, and that starts with providing accessible customer service. Here are five tips to help small business owners offer customer support via twitter.
Tip #1: Use Twitter’s customer service features
You don’t have to recreate the wheel in this endeavor. Twitter makes the entire customer service operation painless and straightforward. Back in 2016, these features were released to provide better support to small business organizations, just like yours.
With Twitter customer service features, you can:
– Display your support hours, so customers know when you are available.
– Enable direct messages, which allows customers to keep personal details private.
– Turn on a “support” option allowing your consumers to know when your brand is ready to help.
– Utilize welcome messages that prompt users to share more information with you.
While these features might not provide everything you need, they offer the platform to get started and to remain professional.
Tip #2: Monitor keywords & brand mentions
When you have your ears open for the right conversations, you are able to provide quality customer support. The key is to find the problems as they arise. Of course, you want to acknowledge anyone that calls you out specifically, but there are other ways to find issues.
Look for:
– Brand mentions
– Misspellings of your terms
– Relevant keywords
– Product mentions
All of these opportunities give you the chance to engage with your clients and promote a healthy, stable relationship.
Tip #3: Get personal
We know it’s easier for your company to use response templates when talking with customers. Sure, this enables you to respond faster and provides a uniform approach to the way things are handled, but customers prefer personalization.
77% of people are likely to recommend a brand after a personalized customer service experience.
That’s worth more than the time you save with a template. Build stronger relationships as your clients see the emotion, feeling and even humor in your responses. It also helps if the customer service representative signs the Tweet with their name.
Tip #4: Never ignore negative comments
If we could offer one piece of business advice, it would be never to ignore the negative feedback provided on a public platform such as Twitter.
Of course, it’s more enjoyable to deal with happy customers, but you will likely have plenty of fires to put out. Usually, these are more plentiful than compliments from consumers. You must take the time to deal with every question or concern if you want to excel in the marketplace.
Sure, you will have to grow thick skin in order to listen to all of the complaints, but it’s necessary. Furthermore, you might learn something about the way you do business and find ways to grow.
The key is to respond with grace. That’s how businesses win over the customer and ensure future success. If you can’t manage to react with courtesy and compassion, you likely will lose the customer as well as viewers watching the interaction.
Yes, you will have to deal with the trolls in the process. That should never stop you from looking your best and making an effort to appease everyone. The response you give reflects how your company looks to the public eye.
By initiating timely responses filled with empathy anytime you receive negative feedback, you set your company up for positive interactions in the future. It also allows you to retain customers, even if they are unhappy at first.
Tip #5: Know when to move off-platform
Using Twitter for customer service makes the entire process smoother and more efficient, but there are times when you need to move off of the platform. While Twitter is ideal for nipping things in the bud, you don’t want to have a lengthy conversation in the Twitter feed.
Customer service inquiries can start with Twitter and move off-platform. If you are able to keep your answers simple and to the point, then staying on Twitter is the best course of action. On the other hand, if you need to give elaborate instructions, Twitter isn’t your best choice.
In these cases, you can move to Direct Messages to have a private platform. This is also helpful if your customer needs to provide sensitive information, such as an email address, mailing address or billing information.
Simply ask your customer to DM you the details that are needed. If you need to pass the concern on to someone else, you will want to have all of their contact information.
If you do end up passing the concern off, make sure you follow up. You don’t want anyone sitting waiting for a response. The last thing you need to do is create a wild goose chase for a customer just looking for an answer. Make sure you keep their complaint moving and follow up to ensure customer satisfaction.
Supply your Twitter customers’ needs
You invest a lot in your marketing campaigns and strategies, but customer retention should be equally as important. Acquiring a new customer costs five times more than retaining your existing client base. Even the best digital marketing agency will tell you to focus your efforts on customer service and satisfaction.
Thankfully, Twitter makes providing exceptional customer service easy. Use the available support tools, establish a clear strategy for dealing with complaints and turn the perceptions around with ease. When you supply a customer-focused experience, your clients will remain loyal and you will gain new prospects as a result.
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This guest blog post was written by our partners at Twiends. We hope you’ve found it interesting and informative. Sound off in the comment section!
