Social customer service revolution is still going strong

August 8, 2013

It feels like a while since I last blogged about social customer care, despite it being one of the areas of social media management and strategy that fascinates me the most. In my time spent working in social media, I’ve observed brands and businesses evolve their clunky social care processes, into smart, well-oiled social service systems.

Statistics from Socialbakers’ Socially Devoted Survey for Q2 prove that brands are continuing to make their social service offerings more effective and efficient (as opposed to just merely coping with what they can). The results are overwhelmingly positive, indicating the new levels of commitment to social customer care excellence. See the infographic below for the results.

Only one year ago 70% of social media questions went unanswered; this quarter’s results indicate that 62% of all questions are now being answered in social media. That’s a 143% increase in just one year!

Brands are quickly learning to better respond to their customer’s demands, in spite of increased pressures faced as social evolves into a mainstream service channel. According to SocialBakers, the number of questions asked on brand pages on Facebook has increased by 85% over the last year; it seems that more customers are wisening up to the fact that they can get a pretty slick response online.

To round off, here’s some of the factors which contribute to social care excellence:

– Round the clock service (including weekends): Not something all brands and businesses can cater for but it’s certainly a smart strategic move, if do-able.

– Rapid response rate: The quicker the response, the happier the customer.

– Proactive engagement: Reaching out to consumers that don’t even know you are listening to them to offer your assistance. Top quality stuff.

– Integration with product and marketing teams: Use the insights and feedback garnered through social media to better your brand. Information needs to be shared for changes to be implemented.

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