What’s Next… for customer service and social media?

“Sorry” can sometimes be the hardest word, yet it is very often what customers most need to hear. This was one of the conclusions from our panel of experts earlier this week discussing the impact that social media has had on customer expectations. The speakers were: Tara Evans, journalist, This is Money/Daily Mail Alex Pearmain, head of PR & social media, O2 Kyle Thorne, social relations manager, Virgin Atlantic Airways Eva Keogan, head of innovation, Fishburn Hedges Chair: Sam Knowles, joint managing director, Echo UK They agreed that the quality of a brand’s service or offer was indivisible from their reputation and hence any social media communications had to reflect the reality of that service. Good or bad. Other key points were: - Companies must use social media to show empathy with customers, but customers should also meet them halfway with their behaviour. Many social media complaints can be more abusive than calls - Brand communications must reflect the tonality and status of customer service, otherwise it will only alienate - Social media is a third line of defence: customers complaining online are often those who have been let down through other means - If a customer cares enough to complain through social media, they will care enough to have a conversation about it – which gives brands a chance to convert ranters into ravers Serve, sell and socialise At Virgin Atlantic, Kyle Thorne wants to create advocacy and loyalty using the ‘big 4’: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn. He said, “Our strategy is to serve, sell and socialise”. He makes use of social by proactively engaging customers while they are on the move to add value. A case in point is the Heathrow disruption 18 months ago. They messaged passengers to let them know they’d chartered planes and wanted to get them home in time for Christmas. They also make use of brand advocates who propel goodwill on their behalf. These are people who fly with Virgin a lot, and know their brand intrinsically. Thorne warned though, that brand communications must reflect the service levels. You can’t push out happy messages about how wonderful your brand is when customers could be experiencing something different. “You need to make promises, and keep them”. Alex Pearmain at O2 agreed, but as a mobile operator, explained that the pressures were heightened as a communications provider. “You can’t divide service and reputation.” O2 has 15,000 customers communicating over O2 forums every day. Most of it is self-policing. However, he explained that if a customer has a complaint, by the time they get to Twitter, they are already pretty angry. Social media operators, by essence, are relying on the ‘first line experience’ of customer service, to make their lives easier. Lovers and haters Pearmain sees complaints as a brand opportunity though. If a customer cares enough to complain online, they will also care enough to take the conversation further with the brand. When that’s the case, it’s possible to convert them from a complainant to an advocate, depending on how well you handle them. The consensus amongst the panel was that for those call centre agents adhering to brand guidelines, “sorry” can sometimes be the hardest word. That’s often all the customer wants to hear, yet service agents are too quick to defend themselves with lengthy explanations. Empathy is everything and social enables it. This is what O2 found when criminal activity caused a service outage for thousands of its customers in the south east recently. They used social media to get on the front foot, and in stark contrast to a rival operator in a similar scenario, proactively tweeted and messaged customers as soon as the issue began, from 6.45am. Treat everyone equally There was also discussion about when customers don’t get a reply. This Is Money’s Tara Evans explained that her readers often fail to resolve complaints through social and feel as though it’s “just for PR”. The panel agreed that social media is as prone to failure as any other communications channel. Evans felt that because most people still hadn’t used social media to engage brands, those that do get the benefits can receive VIP treatment. Her challenge to companies was to treat everyone equally, especially when numbers increase. Does social encourage abusive customers? Fishburn Hedges’ head of innovation, Eva Keogan, felt that consumers must also treat company staff fairly as well. The panel agreed with the point that customer service abuse can be a problem sometimes, and that social media enables more ‘digital graffiti’. What’s acceptable on Twitter wouldn’t be acceptable in a direct conversation with a call centre agent, where consumers are much more measured. The challenge from Keogan was for brands to operate with a level of empathy they’ve never had before, but consumers need to meet them halfway with better behaviour. The panel concluded that in the next 10 years, social media will be more mobile, more visual, but also taken for granted as “just another channel”.