With practically everyone on social media nowadays, it’s not surprising why many people use social media to connect with businesses whenever they have questions, suggestions, or complaints.
What the numbers say
As many as 90% of social media users have initiated communication with a brand through social media. Among all current channels for customer service, social media gets the highest preference at 34.5%, followed by live chat at 24.7% and email at 19.4%. Phone calls — the oldest channel of them all — are at the bottom with only 16.1%. It’s not a surprise why 63% of customers expect brands to deliver customer service on social media.
How to use social media for customer service
A quick response for first contact resolution is the key to successful CS on social media. The average response time for brands is five hours, but customers expect more. Around 42% want a response within an hour, while 32% want one within half an hour. More than 10% expect immediate responses!
Instant replies aren’t always feasible, but be as quick whenever possible. Poor response time leads to 15% customer attrition rate. No response? Expect at third of your customers to switch to a competitor, and a half of your customers to drop their advocacy for your brand. Worse, 31% will go online and share their bad CS experience for everyone to see.
Websitebuilder.org.uk created this infographic filled with great info on Customer Service.
