Using social media to give your customers the gift of five-star customer service
The social media train is rolling along stronger than ever. Businesses are hopping on with much less hesitation than a few years ago. There’s just one problem: Many companies forget to buy their tickets and pack their bags.
Simply having a Facebook fan page or a Twitter account is like hopping on a train with a one-way ticket. Sure you’ll see the sites along the way, but you’re not going to get very far. You have to plan your route.
Many people regard social media as simply a promotional tool. It’s not. Yes, social media can help raise awareness of your company, product, brand, etc., but social media savvy companies and individuals realize it’s purpose is much more powerful.
Take for instance
The Greatest Customer Service Story Ever Told, Starring Morton’s Steakhouse by Peter Shankman. This story is incredible inspiring. I’ll let you read it (and I hope you do) for yourself, but it goes something like this. Peter, during an exceptionally long day of traveling, was craving a steak from his go-to spot
Morton’s The Steakhouse. He jokingly tweeted the restaurant asking them to have a steak at the next airport he was landing at. Well, guess what? His joke became a reality when he arrived at his destination to see a Morton’s waiter (tux and all) standing with Peter’s driver and a to-go bag packed with restaurant favorites.
Have you ever heard of customer service that amazing? Talk about five-star! So, maybe the restaurant wouldn’t go that far for someone like you or me (Peter is famous in the PR and social networking world), but check out Morton’s
Facebook page and
Twitter. It’s amazing. They listen–to everyone!
That’s how you provide exceptional customer service. No matter how big or small your company is, they key is to listen. That includes monitoring your social network accounts and providing timely response, which brings me to a couple of my top pet peeves.
It really, really bothers me when people link all of their accounts together so that they only have to post on one site OR when they schedule all of their messages. What’s my beef? Among the reasons that I rarely suggest using either of these tactics is, how do you know what people are saying if you never log into your account? (FYI, I do not follow companies or people on Twitter when they don’t interact with other Twitter users. What’s the point?)
If you’re a fan, you just want to be heard. Taking the time to monitor and respond is worth every second that it takes. It’s just that simple.
