8 Ways Businesses Can Use Twitter for Better Customer Service
Filed Under Social Marketing
You might have set up a Twitter account for your business, but maybe you’re not too sure what good it can do for the company. It can help you get out messages about the products and services you offer or keep customers up-to-date on company news and promotions. But there is also another great use for Twitter: improved customer service.
More and more customers are looking to social media sites for fast customer support. Today’s consumer has very high expectations when it comes to customer service. They want answers and solutions right away. If they have a problem, they want to know that they are being heard and understood.
Here are eight ways that your business can use your Twitter account to improve your customer service and solidify the relationship with your customers.
Let people know when you are available.
On your Twitter account, update your bio information to include your availability for customer support. This lets customers know at what time during the day they can expect you to be monitoring for questions and comments. You can also add your customer service number and email address.
Link your customer support page.
Instead of having a link to your homepage in your bio, link to your customer support page. You can also notify customers about using Twitter for customer support and the availability on your website’s customer support page.
Make it more personal.
Customers still want to know there is a human being on the other end, so be sure to adding photos of your customer service person or team to your Twitter background. When each person responds to a tweet, have them add their initials at the end. This lets customers know who they have been interacting with.
Keep an eye on privacy.
Don’t ask your customers to share their personal information or account information openly. Ask them to send you an email or, if you follow each other, send them a direct message.
Move the conversation somewhere else when needed.
Not all issues can be resolved in 140 characters or less. If a problem or question is going to require more discussion, ask them to email or call your support number directly. Don’t frustrate customers further by trying to give them a short answer.
Have a clear understanding of response times.
Whether your Twitter account is being managed in-house or through a third-party source, it is important to have a clearly defined response time and customer support schedule. Having everyone on the same page about this will ensure that customer service issues will be handled promptly.
Create content for better responses.
If you notice customers asking the same questions, start creating content that you can easily refer them to in a tweet in order to answer their questions faster and in more depth. This can include articles, blog posts, audio recordings or video tutorials. This will cut down on how much time needs to be spent on repetitive customer support issues.
Consider having an account dedicated to customer support.
As more and more customers start to reach out to your company through Twitter, it might be necessary to set up a dedicated team and account for customer service issues. This will make it easier to handle any questions or concerns promptly instead of having to sort through hundreds of other tweets and possibly missing one.
Twitter might be one of your least-used social networks, but opening it up as a line of communication for customer support issues is an excellent way to have clear interaction with your customers. You will be able to respond faster, which is what customers want, and without a lot of added cost, which you want.
Have you used Twitter as a way to improve customer service? What do you think the benefits of this strategy will be for your business? Share with us!
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Dawn Pigoni, IVAA Member
