Social Media as a Form of Customer Support

As technology is taking over the world, companies are struggling to resolve bugs that their customers are experiencing. Many customers are waiting hours on hold and getting frustrated with their experience with the brand. To solve this frustration, companies such as Apple, Samsung and Adobe are meeting customers where they are likely to express their frustration: on social media. Apple, Samsung and Adobe have created customer support handles: @AppleSupport, @SamsungSupprt and @AdobeCare. Tech companies are posting tips and tricks about their products while also fielding customer complaints on the back-end.

The Benefits

This is a great marketing strategy for many reasons. First, it gives a platform for companies to remind users of reasons why they should use their products. These posts can be found under “Tweets”. Second, it’s allows users to comment on those posts and to say exactly which features they are excited about and which ones they’d like to see modified. Third, and most importantly, it allows companies to extinguish customer frustrations by replying to their tweets and resolving the issue before it festers and damages the brand. Adobe values this service so much that they have employed Spanish-speakers to answer issues in Spanish as well. Most notably, this is all done on a platform that their target market uses on a daily basis and appeals to the target market’s desire for personalized service.

Some considerations

In order to have this service work effectively, a company must commit to maintaining it. Someone has to constantly be scouring the web to see if some of the complaints aren’t tagged with their Twitter handle. Adobe does this very well, often replying to comments in which the company wasn’t tagged but was simply mentioned. Additionally, the company shouls also post tips and tricks about the company products on a regular basis. If the company is only replying to tweets, its Twitter wall will seem empty and inactive, leading consumers to believe that it is no longer supported. The company would also be missing out on an opportunity to showcase their products and remind users why they love the company’s products.

Finally, all of the employees managing the company support account must be very well trained. Whatever they post and whatever they reply will reflect on the company. While customer service calls are recorded, they are not available to the public. A company’s Twitter page though is. So if anything’s not answered adequately, it’s available for everyone to see. Thus, a company must either have very strict regulations or trust their employees completely to be able to answer in the name of the company.

Have you ever used social media to voice a concern or complaint? If so, what was your experience? Was it as helpful as calling in? Was it faster? Slower?

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