10 questions to answer before using social media for customer service

Customer service is no longer limited to call support and email assistance. Social media has widened its scope. Many say it is a good thing but brands – even big ones – are struggling to meet customer expectations on social media channels. The same has been stated in two recent studies confirmed by Fortune.com. And we don’t blame brands for it.

While companies have been working with other channels of troubleshooting for many decades now, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are rather new in comparison. Because of this, many businesses get wrong while replying to comments, reviews, and requests. To save companies planning to step into the social-sphere from embarrassment, I have answered 10 most common yet game changing questions about customer service through social media.

Besides that, I will also share expert tips, ideas and use real world examples to handle customer enquiries and questions on social media. So, let’s get going!

Should we reply to negative comments or delete them?

Never EVER make the mistake of deleting a negative comment. There is every chance that it will further infuriate the commenter who is also your customer. The best way to handle customer complaint on social media sites is to:

• Go through the message carefully – Most customers don’t care about leaving a negative review or comment for something trivial. They usually have a serious grievance when they do. So, it is important to go through the message carefully and understand what the matter actually is.
• Identify the problem – Once going through the message, you will discover where the problem is. If the problem lies at your end, apologize and make amends. If there has been a confusion, write a thorough reply explaining every aspect.
• Take action – It is important to tell what you are doing to make the situation better. This shows that your business cares.

Starbucks has over 35,831,408 Facebook likes and phenomenal community engagement but it always find the time to interact with its customers through comments. Besides replying to queries, it even answers general comments. How cool is that?

Is it important to reply to every message on social media?

No. There is no compulsion to acknowledge every message you receive through social media. Your job is to identify the ones that are actually important and address their needs. The same goes with comments and general acknowledgements.

If you are maintaining a Facebook page and have a decent following, then, be prepared for queries, questions and messages that mean little. Here is an example of visitor posts on Skittles’ official Facebook page with over 24,287,764 likes. Do you really think they should respond to them?