Connecting with Customers through Social Media

Like, share, post, follow, tweet, hashtag, and trending.

Are you familiar with these social media buzzwords? You may not be familiar with all of these terms but you may have heard at least one.

Social media has been part of our daily lives, from networking with friends and family members to engaging communities. Today, we use social media as our source of information, engagement and connection.

Since today’s trend is social media, as entrepreneur why not use it to your advantage?

The reason for this is to connect with the right people to introduce your service. Also, you can talk to the right markets. Connect with customers, know their needs and share your core expertise to them.

Why Use Social?

Build connections. Social media is the easiest way to connect with people. In just one click, you can find people and reach influencers and decision makers. This way, you can also share information with them.

Use connections. Through the use of online feedbacks and surveys, you can gather comments and suggestions. They can help you do something to respond on their needs.     

Promote your products or services.  After you identify their needs and wants, it’s now your turn to connect and share your service. Important tip in using social media: Don’t sell. You need to let your customers know that you are a thought leader and that you know what you are doing. 

If you have a good brand reputation and you provide the best service, it will just have a domino effect.

Keep yourself visible by staying active in social communities. If a customer asks, you answer. If one complains, you resolve. Be updated and keep them updated.

Be wise in using social media; remember ethics have to be followed. Use social media with good intentions, not to ruin or harm others.

Some of the popular social media networks people use these days are:  Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, and Linkedin. Use any or all of these tools to reach your target customers.

Build a connection and stay connected all the time, anytime.

The Art of Questioning

Stephen R. Covey, the bestselling author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, explained in one of the habits that we need to “Begin with the end in mind.” While this habit refers to our personal goals, it also applies to the way we handle customers. When we answer a call from a customer, what is our end goal?

As business owners, our goal is to understand the need of the customer and find way to address it. Customers call for answers, not to leave still feeling frustrated. But in order to find the best solution to problems, get into the root of it all. What caused the problem, which worries the caller? It is important for your customer service representatives to ask the right questions.

The art of questioning is a wonderful skill and can be acquired through constant practice.

Why is questioning necessary?

-          to gather information;

-          to manage the call (Phone reps should effectively manage the entire call);

-          to identify the hidden concern; and

-          to clarify things

Know the strategy of asking question and the types of questions to be asked.                            

How to ask questions

-          prepare the most appropriate question;

-          know when to ask a question; and

-          ask politely

There are different types of questions. Two of the commonly used strategies are the open-ended and closed-ended question, and the funneled question.

The open and closed-ended question is a type of question you need to ask. An open-ended question is answerable by something generic or can be followed by another question. Closed-ended question is answerable by yes or no and a specific answer. Using this question vice versa will easily help you identify the caller’s real concern.

The best strategy for questioning is funneled questioning. In this strategy, you attempt to identify the reason why customers called. The way you ask a question is really intense.  You ask every detail of the caller’s response to shed more light in the matter.

The quality of questions you ask will determine how effective your solutions will be.

A Touch of Exceptional Customer Service

To serve you is my duty, to give you satisfactory service is my responsibility. To touch your heart is to give my best service.       

The power to win the customer and keep her coming back to make business with you lies in the hands of a highly trained, professional customer service representative. If you are a small business, you need to take advantage of it.

How can it be done? What is the impact to your customers? These are some of the questions you can use as guide. Ask yourself and see if your business can truly deliver the service that wows your customers and makes them stay loyal with you.

It is definitely good in many areas – from bookings to online order taking.

There is a growing trend for customer service to be done even on the Internet. A customer from Singapore can buy a pair of shoes from a retailer in the United States. Looks cool and convenient, but how safe is it?

This is where great service comes in. Customer service reps should be on hand ready to assist a customer who got stuck in the process. Questions will be raised but having an available person who is ready to help enables the buyer to complete the process. It allows you to respond quickly.

In online order taking, for instance, there are two key factors to consider.

First, listen part and take down orders accurately.  In the world of customer service, listening is the most important part in online order taking process. Listening actively during the transaction helps you get the right information and take note without committing major mistakes.

Second is that you can verify.  It secures the delivery of the order. The advantage of having the right information is that you can immediately process the order quickly and deliver it to the customer on time.

You can always have variety. Learn to be creative.

If the target delivery is not possible, you can easily communicate to the customer and advise her on the next earliest date. You can now coordinate with the delivery service provider and monitor the target delivery date.

The moment you keep track of the details with the delivery service provider, the more credible you become with the customer. It touches her heart and etches your company in her mind. She will feel that you are giving her extra attention to her needs.

The touch of a great service not only touches the heart but touches that part which does not easily go away: You build trust. Guaranteed service always leads to a great customer experience.

Do Customers Sign Up or Sign Out?

Technology has been our best friend for years, enabling people to make things easier. The advancements are now in every field, from banking, law, information technology, aviation, education to customer service. More people are going online to look for what they need. Surprisingly, they order items on the Internet, visiting web sites that they believe can give them the best deal. Getting an online-based customer service is a sure-fire way to attend to every customer anytime of the day. In fact, e-commerce web sites are one of the front-liners in this method, and they can tell you that they benefit a lot from the use and convenience of a web chat application.

Real-time assistance through a web chat is no longer a trend; it is now fast becoming a must-have business tool with more people searching and buying products using their computer or phone. These users likewise expect the best customer experience as they would in a traditional method like in a 24/7 customer service call center.

Customers always love businesses that are on the cutting edge; they like everything to be:

• Accessible. Make sure that potential buyers can talk to one of your live chat agents while looking at the pages of your website.

•  Fast.  If customers have concerns, they want your web chat agent to respond quickly. Slow response can turn customers off. If you delay or you never respond at all, they will sign out and leave your business completely.

•   Reliable. They want honest, relevant and helpful answers. Your replies should be accurate to what they want to know.

With the internet, everything becomes less expensive and more efficient. It is also an opportunity to improve your brand online.

Are you ready to run an online customer service? Here is a list of things you need:      

• Chat application. There are good web chat applications like Zopim and LivePerson.

•   CMS-driven web site. Even non-techies will appreciate a web site that they can update easily. However, someone must maintain the web site and monitor in case of downtimes. Apparently, your web site must have a good user interface. It should be easy to navigate even through a tablet or a smart phone. Always have your contact details in the site’s home page.

•   Quality agents. Having a professional team of live chat agents is important to your business. They are your front-liners even when you are already out of the office or on vacation. Remember that people should always be available to respond to concerns, answer any questions and inquiries from customers.

Bring out the best in your online customer service. Stay online 24/7/365 and your customers will always stay loyal to your business. Give them the best experience even in social media and they will sign up quickly. Give them a bad experience and they will leave you forever. You do not want them to sign out and look for a better one, right?

The Season of Giving, The Season of Helping

It may be the ‘Most Wonderful Time of the year’, but this month can be the ‘Most stressful season’ for business owners. They are juggling with many things – from managing the operations to working the phones, making sure that they can help to one customer despite the hundreds of others waiting to be attended.

Is your customer service ready this holiday season? Your customer service reps should be ready all the time and hopefully, they are prepared ahead of time.

This is the time of year when people flock the malls, looking for and buying presents for their friends, colleagues and loved ones. The increase in visits varies every year.  Therefore, being prepared is the best weapon at this point of time. 

As H. Jackson Brown, Jr., author of P.S. I Love You, put it, “The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” Give your best today by equipping your phone agents to be proactive and ready to help stressed customers wanting to get things done. The rewards in the end are tremendous; you keep and retain loyal customers.

Since this season is a “season of giving”, as business owner, just learn to give everyone the best service they rightfully deserve, and you are well on your way to receive more than what you give.

Contact centers have been one of the best strategies every business owner can employ if they want to manage customers and retain them. The service should provide full assistance from addressing complaints, processing orders, monitoring status to solving problems. Customers will be happy when they feel someone is really assisting them especially if they are ordering either through phone or online.

Christmas is really the best time to help customers who are harried and hurried this season. Help generously. They will remember the experience you give them afterwards. And so with that, they will stay loyal to your service.

So go ahead and make customers happy this Christmas season by helping them. It makes a world of difference for your business the whole year round.