 This week we welcome a new contributor Stanna Johnson from Qwaya. Stan is an online writer and a social media enthusiast who loves to write about the latest social media trends. Feel free to leave any questions or feedback about the article in the comments section below and Stan will check back to follow up. |
Every business operating has one thing in common. They all need customers. While some types of industries certainly have different relationships with those customers, the fact that people need to purchase products and services in order to keep a company afloat remains unchanged. One of the best ways to keep a customer base happy and to grow a brand is to offer great customer support. However, many businesses using social media to brand themselves fail to offer this staple.
There’s a lot of literature out there giving statistics on how companies use customer support and what customers think of brands that have it. But what happens to your business if you fail to offer customers a helping hand?
What Happens Without Customer Service
Issues Pile Up: On social media sites, a popular business can expect a lot of traffic daily. This can lead to a lot of issues if there are problems with Facebook ads, signup pages, video or audio, or issues with the product. Just because your main business page has support doesn’t mean that will suffice for your social audience. If these issues pile up, which they will over time, you can expect a snowball effect that leaves you in over your head.
Word Spreads: As that snowball grows larger, the word starts to spread. Likes turn to dislikes; fans turn to your competition. Groups pop up using your brand name negatively. It’s a situation that is only exacerbated by the lack of support you offer. Fans and customers go from thinking that you don’t care to outright holding a grudge against your brand.
Stagnant Growth as a Minimum: As the very minimum, your social audience is going to stop growing. Remember that word “social”? In any context, that’s about communication. If it’s only coming from their end, you will not only deal with numbers that quickly level off, you will see them plummet off a cliff going forward.
What Happens With Customer Service
Quick Issue Resolution: If you notice your target audience is not engaging with your ads to the extent you were aiming for, for example, you can quickly hop on Qwaya and fix it and re-launch (here). If someone has an issue with your product, you can resolve this by communicating. Regardless of the issue, the point is that customer service puts in motion the steps to resolve it. Even if it’s only an email dialogue that’s opened, that lets your fans and customers know they have a voice and that your brand cares.
Brand Promotion: Using a site like Facebook as an example, any action taken by a member of your network will be made available to their entire network via the News Feed. Positive actions beget positive reaction, and a business with solid customer support on this social network will experience positive promotion. The brand is also promoted via any social medium, with more customers able to honestly say they have been an actual part of the brand instead of a mere visitor.
Positive Growth: Over time, the business with quality customer support is going to be viewed in a more positive light and thus experience more growth. Think about how customers find information on your brand. One of the most popular ways is to check an online review. If this review has “Good customer support” as a pro, you’re going to attract more people to your networks.
While a lot of the stuff above may seem like common sense to some businesspeople, it’s actually alien to many more. The lack of thorough customer support on social networks is staggering. Don’t fall into this trap. Offer support to your fan-base and customers.
| Thanks to Stan for sharing her thoughts about social media and customer service! As more and more brands are shifting their budgets toward social media, it’s great to observe the good and bad examples. Have a comment or a similar experience? Share it in a comment! |
