Customer Service Through Social Media

With the new online landscape of social media, customers have higher expectations from their favorite companies. With the internet, customers have instant access to your website, your supporters, and your detractors. They can make quick decisions about how your service stacks up to the competition, and whether your business is one they are interested in working with.

How can you use social media to improve the quality of your customer service? Here are a few tips.

• Create a website. If you don't have a website telling people about the services you have to offer, you might as well be invisible to your customers. Customers want to know everything they can about you, from your business history to your current policies. Having a website reassures customers that you are easily accessible and willing to work with them with any difficulties they might have.
• Include a blog. A blog allows readers to stay up-to-date with the latest sales, information, and changes within your business. Providing customers with fresh posts on a regular basis will show that you are keeping an open channel of communication with your readers, should a crisis occur.
• Build a presence on other social media networks. Should your website be unavailable for any reason, you still need a way to communicate with your customers. If you are already established on other sites such as Twitter or Facebook, your customers will turn there to find out the latest updates on your website status. You can also use these sites as an additional channel for customer service, answering any questions as your followers have them.

What unique ways have you used social media to improve the quality of your customer service? Have you seen a company embracing these tools to provide quality customer care? Share your stories here.