When it comes to customer service, brands need to see things from a customer's perspective, not the most convenient way from the brand's point of view. Tools are meant to facilitate communications between brands and their customers, not to give score to each customer's online presence then reply to queries according to scores. Would you as person, a customer of a business, like to be treated like this? Probably not! So, treat your customers in a way which you'd like to be treated as a customer to another business.
Prioritization is key of course, but what seems has been receiving the least attention is customers' feelings -- which is the primary component of return business. For example, if you go to a pizza restaurant you trust, because you see them in almost every high street and see their adverts online as well as offline, but you have to wait for 25 minutes before having your starter on your table, and when you get your food, the waitress tells you to have your pizza with your used cutlery, because they don't have clean cutlery -- how would you feel? Are you going to go back to that restaurant?
Are you going to have anything nice to say about the service you received?
How do you feel if you didn't complain last time you were in the same restaurant for something different, but this time you decided to give the pizza restaurant a second chance?
If you put a complaint, how quickly would you like to hear from the company and what would you like to hear?
It is however not enough to hear back from the pizza company, it is important to hear from them with certain words and promises, isn't it? How long it should take the business to get back to their loyal customer before losing the loyalty?
Conversocial has recently conducted an interesting research into consumer behavior and attitude when using social media for customer services purposes; some of the insights are as follows:
For Facebook
- 29 percent of customers want a response within two hours
- 22 percent expect a same-day response
For Twitter
Twitter expectations are even higher!
- 30 percent of users expecting a response in just 30 minutes
- 22 percent wanting one within two hours
- 29 percent looking for a same-day response
So, brands decide to be reactive rather than proactive may miss a point or two here with regards to an effective customer service -- which indeed can lead to customer loyalty and advocacy. Customer service is the new PR, and the way forward for building brand equity.
By the way, the pizza example is real and recent.