Should You Be Using Twitter for Customer Service?

Twitter has revolutionised the way brands interact with customers since it launched originally in terms of marketing but as of late, much more in terms of customer service.

The general shift in expectation towards instant gratification as the norm has meant that customers much prefer the quick and direct contact they can have from brands on Twitter as opposed to waiting for emails or replies or messenger. But does that mean that you should be using Twitter for customer service in your business?

TWITTER IS THE PERFECT CUSTOMER SERVICE TOOL FOR:

Quick Queries

If the customer's question requires a short, snappy answer Twitter is ideal for giving them that. The customer gets an answer to a question that they might not think is important enough for an email or phone call and if your team is well manned the Twitter response will usually be faster than if they were to have to wait on hold or for an email response.

However ...

The 140 character limit means that it can be difficult to give more in-depth answers without bits being missed or replies outside of the thread going unseen. This problem can usually be rectified by moving the conversation to direct message or off the platform but it can trip up those less experienced on Twitter.

Grouping Queries

The search function on Twitter allows you to look into similar queries and sort them out all at once, unlike traditional phone or email queries which would only let you help one person at once.

Some brands even use hashtags to group their customer's tweets into sections, they encourage the customers to do the same which makes it easier to respond and track certain issues.

Establishing Brand Persona

Lots of brands have capitalised on the ability to show off their sense of humour through answering less serious queries on Twitter. This way you can increase brand exposure through retweets, and likability and familiarity through engagement without having to spend any time or money on advertising!

WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR:

Bad Press

As everything you post on Twitter (including your replies to others) is available for anyone with a Twitter account to see, you can run into problems if customers decide to air their problems publicly and they aren't handled correctly.

To avoid any negative exposure, treat customers exactly as you would in real life, calmly and professionally with the overriding message being that you want to help them. Tune in to particularly frustrated customers and respond to them with care as you can't delete a tweet about you but you can make sure you don't let anger dictate your response.

Becoming Overwhelmed

Twitter is a hugely dynamic platform and it is important to have resources in place to stop your business being overwhelmed if you are inundated with requests to help customers but don't have the staff to answer them quick enough.

Diverting customers to another customer service system, like your contact page or a phone number, is a great way to do this as it acknowledges their problem but gives you longer to respond. Make sure to be consistent with what you are giving out though. Linking them to FAQs, or a part of your website if it will solve the problem is also a good way to go about this.

Overall Twitter is a platform that is vital to some businesses but can be too much for others. If the platform fits as a natural part of your marketing strategy, it's up to you to weigh up whether it suits your strategy and manpower! Do you have questions about social media or which platforms to use? Get in touch with us here →