The Zen of Social Customer Support

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The maxim, “the customer is always right” continues to haunt the corporate world to the delight of customers who seek to get the best out their hard-earned money.

The situation is still progressively getting worse in the age of personal mass communication, as customers easily resort to digital and social media if they don’t get a service immediately right.

 

According to Sentimetrics.com, social customers want a response via their social media of choice within 60 minutes of communication however, on a positive note, 71% who experience a positive response are ready to promote the brand with their friends and contacts online.

Not getting the advertised product or service on time, or not at all, without an explanation or even an apology, or indeed not getting support for the product or service when it fails, combined with the possible negative attitude shown by a company or its representatives, towards the customer once the money has been forked out, are among the classic customer support failures still experienced today.

The social media comes into play and the whole scenario changes. NM Incite have found that a social customer interaction can cost as low as $1, while the same interaction over the phone costs six times as much! Ovum discovered that 70% of consumers would rather use social channels first rather than the phone to get the issue solved on the first attempt.

Four rules for engagement

So how can you happily bring together a good product and/or service, good customer care and a social presence? There are a few simple rules to follow.

First, you have to react to inbound messages. Sounds like a no brainer but it is not. The more time passes the bigger the chance of losing a customer and the bigger the chance a dissatisfied customer vents his/her frustration with friends and contacts on social media.

Then it’s imperative to ‘listen’ to untagged mentions of your company and brand(s). This is worth the time spent, for it shows that you really care about your brand and customers.

Thirdly, make the effort to listen to social, a team effort, by enrolling colleagues from other units/teams/departments (who spend a lot of time on social media anyway). For example colleagues in HR can engage in issues of recruitment while those in sales can tackle any messages related to products and services and after sales.

Last but not least, there are several tools that can help you to monitor and manage better your interactions online and social media.

When money talks

Quasar, a Malta based online gaming company that provides classic games like casino, blackjack, poker and slot machines to the international market, has invested in Zendesk, a comprehensive customer support solution, to provide the best customer support possible in an industry where money and how it’s spent on betting, is the big issue. This is a market where clients can be very sensitive to good customer care especially where their money is concerned, and there are also language issues in an international market and technological issues relating to the use of computers.

Originally Quasar had different applications to handle email, live online chat and phone calls, but Zendesk rendered these redundant and brought all communications channels into one solution that provides all the different options to players at different times of the day, with e-mail available all the time and agents ready to take phone calls and hold online live chats during daytime.

Quasar was also given implementation support from Malta-based iMovo, rendering the transition smoother and making sure the benefits of the new solution are immediately reaped. This kind of business-to-business support is essential and must not be taken for granted. Having a local Zendesk implementation partner really made a difference.

The customer care automation provided by Zendesk, complemented by well trained customer care personnel, have earned Quasar a high rating in terms of customer support from international third-party gaming rating services.

Whether it’s the thrill of an online poker game, buying a new toaster online or booking a hotel for your next vacation trip, companies which provide great customer care can make sure their brand thrives online and make the best use of opportunities offered by social media. The tools are there but have to picked up and used the right way.