The power of social media continues to grow stronger as the number of users in various platform increases each day. In fact, the market research company Statista released a report that by 2019, there will be around 2.77 billion social network users around the globe, up from the 2.46 billion in 2017. The same source revealed that in the United States alone, users spend a significant amount of their time browsing the social media as of the second quarter of 2016.
Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and the like have become such valuable tools to businesses. They use it not only to promote their brand but also to strengthen it by integrating their tech support process into the social media. It tightens the bond between the business and their customers by preventing sour relationship caused by unentertained inquiries and unfulfilled promises. Businesses that consolidate their tech support process to social media networks allow their customers and prospects to know that they are ready to provide support anytime.
Statistically speaking, this kind of method is effective as a J.D. Power press release revealed that 67 percent of consumers have turned to a company’s social media channel for customer support. Forty-three percent of younger customers aged 18 to 29 years old are also the ones who are more likely to use brands’ social media sites for servicing interactions.
The question, however, lies on how businesses understand and maximize the power of their tech support process.
Harnessing the capabilities of social tech support process
Any business can provide tech support to their customers. But are they doing it the right way?
The key differentiator between businesses that integrate tech support to their social media sites lies on the way they handle each inquiry. For instance, a customer who got frustrated fixing his PC might only get irritated if he received a canned and unclear response. This will lead to dissatisfaction and might even harm the relationship with that customer.
There are also those customers who will tweet or post about an issue instead of sending a direct message to the company. In such cases, businesses should heighten their efforts to know where their customers are. There available software, some of which are free, that they can use to monitor every mention of their brand. This means to say that there are no reasons to stay oblivious to users’ comments which are either good or harmful to the company’s image. Show appreciation if the mention applauds the brand and take immediate measure if the mention expresses dissatisfaction.
Remember that a poorly-handled social media tech support has negative implications to a business’ bottom line and brand image. To achieve higher satisfaction levels, businesses need to provide quality content — to help their customers when it comes to self-service — and to employ responsive tech support representatives. In return, customers who requested and were granted support over social media will end up spending an average of 20 to 40 percent more, a Bain & Company study revealed.
Should businesses entrust their social tech support process to call centers?
Having more than one channel makes it extremely easy for customers to reach a business’ tech support team. But does this make the job easier for their team?
Managing a single, traditional channel can be already challenging especially if the tech support agents are faced with disgruntled callers. Managing several more is already daunting. That is why if businesses want to extend their tech support process to social media, they need to form a dedicated team that focuses solely on addressing issues in social media. Through this, they can provide better customer support and assure that each customer is satisfied with the service they are provided with.
Call centers can help them with this. Today, a majority of call centers offer various services that cater to the ever-changing needs of their clients. Their services are not only limited to calls and emails. They also offer social media tech support services.
Entrusting the tech support process to call centers is not only a smart move to cut costs but also to enhance the entire support process and build better customer relationships.
Want to provide top-quality customer support? Just go social and you’re on your way. Contact us now!
