We all know that today’s contact centres are about much more than manning phone lines and responding to emails. The rise of technology such as mobile devices means that consumers are now looking to engage with businesses across multiple channels, and will expect the same level of service, regardless of the method they choose.
That’s why having an effective omni-channel solution that ensures your customers can move from one communication method to another without any disruptions is essential. Whether it’s voice, live chat, web forms or via an app, having the same high-quality service is a must.
One area that now needs to be a part of this is social. For many companies, the management of channels such as Facebook and Twitter is a task left to the marketing team, but as more users make social their first port of call when they want to raise a complaint or customer service issue, bringing this into the contact centre is becoming more important than ever.
Growing demand for social responses
Recent research from outsourcer Echo Managed Services has highlighted how social must not be overlooked as a key customer service channel in today’s always-connected environment. It found almost one in five people in the UK (18 per cent) name social media as their first preference to voice a complaint, ahead of channels such as phone, face to face, email and web chat.
The same percentage of people even turn to social media ahead of any other channel when a complicated problem arises, and 14 per cent of respondents said they would make it their number one choice in an emergency or time-sensitive situation, such as when a flight is cancelled.
It also warned that companies that do not respond effectively enough via social channels are likely to lose customers. Nearly a third of Brits (29 per cent) said they would take their business elsewhere if they were not satisfied with the service they received via social channels.
Getting social right
This means that social media must be considered as far more than a marketing channel. Companies that place a high importance on this and make it a key part of their omni-channel strategy are likely to do a better job of keeping their customers happy than those that do not.
Plus, as social media is a public forum, the impact this has can spread much further than a customer who contacts a firm directly. Other consumers who are able to see the business responding quickly to concerns or complaints – even if it’s just an initial acknowledgement and an invitation to continue the conversation on a different, more private channel – will also take away a positive impression of the company.
Effectively integrating social is about much more than simply responding quickly to direct questions. With the right contact centre software, you can also use smart filtering solutions to easily spot the posts that matter, ensure any queries are swiftly redirected to the most appropriate agent, and avoid issues such as duplicate responses.
Author: Guest Author
Published On: 15th Mar 2016 - Last modified: 6th Feb 2019
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