Consumers are now using social media and emails to voice their concerns. In addition to getting promotions/free gifts, one of the major reasons people like a brand’s Facebook page is so they can voice their complaints online. Using an online forum to deal with customer service is a fast and easy way for otherwise shy and inhibited people to complain to the brand. And, there is a lot of online talking happening.
For example, if you look at the Facebook page of a major brand like McDonald’s or KFC, you will see a large amount of ‘feedback’ on their timelines. And these big brands know not to take complaints lightly. You’ll see that each wall comment is replied to, and referred to the proper channels for compensation if it’s needed.
Responding to each and every post in a positive manner and trying to satisfy customers is what every company needs to do. Otherwise, a company can experience serious backlash from consumers, and it will go viral. A good example of this is Amy’s Baking Company. Amy’s was all over the media with titles referring to the company’s “social media meltdown.” This was bad customer service. The Golden rule for customer service online, is that you never insult your customers.
Complaints aren’t the only customer service that companies need to handle online. Consumers now inquire about products, specifications, location and a number of other questions through social media. Now that consumers can inquire through social platforms, they also expect a response fairly quickly.
Consumers no longer accept a late response because the company was closed. They expect that everyone, including corporations should be connected to social media constantly. If your company doesn’t check its social media pages after hours and on weekends, it’s time to make that change. You can download social media applications to your phone and obtain cross-platform programs, such as Whatever It Takes, so you can be connected to your customers and prospects at all times.
Having constant access to your social media pages and what your consumers are posting, will give you the ability to use feedback to make changes faster, to correct and respond to any mishaps faster, and to contain any situation before it becomes a backlash. If you’re not sure about how bad a social media complaint can be for your company, do some research on how long it takes for social media complaints to multiply in the millions.
It used to be that a dissatisfied customer would tell between 9 to 12 people about their bad experience. Today, upset consumers can use Reddit or 9gagger platforms to tell thousands of people.
Source: www.smallbusiness.yahoo.com
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