Social Media: the Future of Customer Service

Responding to a complaint on social media increases customer advocacy by up to 25%; conversely, not responding to a complaint decreases customer advocacy by as much as 50%.

It is 2017, and consumers’ expectations from companies are higher than ever before. Customers expect to be served wherever they are, whenever they want and fast. And where are customers? Facebook has 1.86 billion monthly active users, Instagram 600 million, and Twitter 300 million; in addition to the rapidly growing messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger with nearly 1 billion each. In the Nordic countries, 78% of the population use Facebook regularly, and 72% use YouTube.

The clearest constant we at Fluido have seen in Social Customer Service projects is customer preference for social media over other legacy channels to ask their questions or raise complaints to companies. We have seen as much as four times a volume increase in social media requests, accounting for 20 to 40% of the total volume from all channels.

This trend goes perfectly in line with what Gartner already predicted a few years ago: “By 2020, 90% of the customer service will happen on social media”. How are you getting prepared to change your processes and tools to address this imminent consumer demand?

You, your relatives, your colleagues, your children, we all are on social media and so brands. If we have a problem or question about a product, why would we go somewhere else? We search the company’s “fan page” and shoot them a question there, with 60% of customers expecting an answer within one hour.

Very often is believed the use of the latest technology resources is exclusive to younger generations, namely Millennials. However, for a long time, we have seen an increased adoption and use of social media across the board. Age is no longer the key determinant factor; the behaviour of the “Connected Customer” using social media and messaging apps spans all age groups.

If you have not yet invested in Social Customer Service, it is time to do so because customers are demanding it. They find it so much easier and more convenient to bring up questions and complaints via social media than through phone or email. Also, it is cheaper and more efficient for your company! The business case for Social Customer Service could not be more compelling.

Not sure where to start with Social Customer Service? Need help optimising your existing capability and building a scalable solution? Let us know how we can help!

Delfin Vassallo
Senior Business Consultant
Social Customer Service