Social media have long ceased to be simple virtual meeting places for users, and have become genuine marketing and communication tools for companies and brands. It is in this context that social customer care was born, which differs from traditional customer support precisely for its “social” character.
Before understanding what social customer care is, it is worth analysing for a moment the exponential growth of social media. Facebook boasts over 2 billion users, Instagram has tripled the number of its subscribers in recent years, and WhatsApp and Messenger register an unparalleled growth rate.
By analysing consumers’ behaviours, companies can draw valuable information for their marketing campaigns, but also to provide a social media customer care service calibrated to the needs of their customers.
Over 60% of users, in order to request information or support on a product or a service, rely precisely on the brands’ social pages.
Do you want to understand how to make your company “social”? Contact us! Here at We Are Fiber we have developed social customer care strategies that adapt perfectly to every need.
The definition of social customer care
Social customer care can be considered as a customer service delivered on the social networks where the brand is present (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.). It therefore includes all the “best practices” of social media customer care, such as managing requests and questions from users.
It differs from traditional support, based mainly on the collection and management of consumers’ data, since it offers an additional flow of more up-to-date and detailed information, coming precisely from the social networks.
Where and how to provide customer care services on social networks?
A good part of online commerce passes mainly through the social networks, where being present is equivalent to being visible. It would be preferable to have a company profile on every social network, but this is not always possible, especially for small brands and companies.
To provide a satisfying social media customer care service it is therefore advisable to use those platforms most used by your own clientele, so as to also optimise internal resources in the best way. It is better to be present on one or two social networks but guarantee an effective and proactive support service, rather than being present on a myriad of social networks but without managing to answer customers’ questions effectively.
If a brand is present on social media, consumers expect to be able to interface with the brand to ask questions, solve problems and satisfy curiosities at any moment.
The KPIs of customer care in social media marketing
Social network customer care is of fundamental importance for the company, but it is worth knowing the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) that determine the success or, on the contrary, the failure of the service offered. The fundamental criteria to be met are three: speed, familiarity and resolution. If they are not guaranteed, customer care via social media risks turning into a resounding boomerang.
Modern users want everything at once, so when they turn to a brand on social media they expect a thorough and relevant answer within 60 minutes. Companies therefore have to organise themselves to guarantee feedback and answers in a short time, using modern technology that includes chatbots and social customer care software, able to independently manage every request.
Secondly, users do not like to be treated as numbers and, specifically, they do not want standard answers. They appreciate, instead, personalised answers based on the specific needs of the moment. The presence of a trained and professional staff of dedicated operators is therefore required, able to bring out the human component of the company.
The last point concerns resolution. Customers not only want quick and immediate answers, but also definitive ones, that is, able to solve the problem once and for all. For this reason it is important to keep track of the most frequent critical issues, in order to remedy them definitively without having to face them periodically.
Social media and customer care, the strategies to adopt
Every company has to draw up a personalised strategy, including the tools to use to answer customers and a plan to manage all moments of crisis.
As already mentioned in the previous paragraph, the staff must be suitably trained and prepared to manage the service in the best way and to know the company’s protocols, so as to provide adequate and structured answers.
Negative comments and complaints do not necessarily have to have a negative connotation. However, on social networks it is preferable to move the communication to private channels, such as chat, email or telephone, in order to try to solve the problems. In this way customers appreciate the care and attention that the company directs towards them and are more easily won over as loyal customers.
We at We Are Fiber have implemented and optimised over time high-performing solutions for every need in terms of social customer care.
