Social customer service may lead to more sales
Never underestimate the power of good customer service. According to a new report from American Express World Service, effective customer service practices used through social media can do more than improve brand relationships – it can actually lead to more sales.
The poll, which surveyed more than 1,000 American shoppers, found that nearly one in five consumers (17 percent) had used social media in the past year for customer service purposes. Those who encountered what they called "great customer service" through these social platforms increased spending by 21 percent with these brands. Shoppers that didn't make use of social customer service spent only 11 percent more with the given brand.
"Delivering outstanding service creates impassioned advocates and can serve as a powerful marketing weapon for companies," says Jim Bush, executive vice president of American Express World Service. "[Those consumers] tell three times as many people about positive service experiences compared to the general population. Ultimately, getting service right with these social media savvy consumers can help a business grow."
The opposite is also true – retail merchants providing poor customer service are likely to miss out on potential sales. Four in five respondents (80 percent) who tried to leverage social media for customer service
purposes but failed or received poor feedback from representatives opted not to make a purchase. Half of shoppers (55 percent) who encountered poor customer service – whether online or in-store – decided not to buy from that retailer.
Shoppers used social media for a variety of customer service-related purposes. Fifty percent contacted a company about an issue with services or purchases, 48 percent used the platform to praise a brand, 47 percent shared their shopping experiences with others, 46 percent vented about poor customer service and 43 percent asked other shoppers how to get a response from a brand.
Responding to customers
Retail merchants need to have some sort of presence on social media sites – there are more than 800 million Facebook members and 200 million Twitter users, which should make it obvious why it's important to be on these sites.
That said, a clearly defined social media strategy is also a necessity. Whoever runs a brand's social media accounts should have a course of action to follow when customers engage the brand through these sites, whether it's to complain, praise or simply ask a question.
