Keeping Up with Customers through Social Customer Service

Technology has changed the way we communicate, as nowadays we connect on channels that did not even exist ten years ago across numerous, equally novel, electronic devices. In this era of constant connectivity, people have grown used to demanding and expecting faster communication—quick questions and even quicker answers. With the rise of social media sites, customer service has been completely redefined: not only has there been a shift away from traditional calls, but customers want answers–and they want them fast.Consider the following statistics. Forbes recently cited a study that found that when consumers contact businesses through social media, 67% expect a response the same day while 42% expect a response in just one hour or less. Furthermore, the Wall Street Journal reported that Americans spend an average of 37 minutes daily on social media– more time than on any other Internet activity–while J.D. Power and Associates found that 67% of consumers have used a company’s social media sites for customer service.Contact centers need to respond to growing consumer demand for social customer service, and they may achieve this with the use of a software solution that effortlessly and efficiently integrates social media into a single platform. Vocalcom offers contact center software solutions with cutting-edge features especially designed for today’s social customer service interactions. Contact centers may benefit from the following:Excellent social media management and engagement, with cost efficiency.

• lowered customer service costs, as engagement through the social media features results in a 30% decrease in call volume
• easy connection to company Facebook and Twitter pages with the option to speak publicly or privately, with seamless movement from one channel to another in a secured environment
• retrieval and processing of posts from various sources such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Agents are also able to engage directly with fan page followers through Linkedin, Facebook, and Google Plus fan pages
• social early warning system allowing agents to see immediate feedback from surveys sent to users through web and mobile, allowing them to respond quickly to negative comments before criticism is posted publicly across social channels
• quick and easy identification of visitors coming from customers’ social circles that lets you welcome them with personal video chat

Excellent tools for agent performance and analytics.

• built-in real-time supervisor display providing instant data on performance including major SLA and KPI data
• suite of agent tools to improve efficiency, such as pre-approved responses to commonly asked questions
• advanced contact center reporting providing over 25 out-of-the-box reports with the most popular metrics for adhering to service level agreements and offering brand insights

With an advanced contact center solution optimized for social customer service, companies are set to respond to their customers in a quick, efficient manner without sacrificing the quality of service. According to Bain & Company, when companies engage and respond to customer service requests over social media channels, those customers consequently spend 20% to 40% more with the company. And many people are well aware of the most telling statistic of all about social customer service: nearly half of customers will tell friends about a good experience on social media, but even more will talk about a bad one. By delivering excellent social customer service, you’ll give your customers a great experience to talk about. Learn more at www.vocalcom.com.