Customers love being listened to.
Photo credit: Gates
Social media has handed the globe an instant, close relationship with each other such that it has become a village. Companies have also been given an interesting opportunity to interact with their customers with ease and fast enough. Customers have the opportunity to raise their complaints and get humanized feedback because without it, the reputation of a company can suffer great damage.
While it may take long to build a reputation, the fact that social media is social, one angry customer can quickly spread the word and many people catch wind of it in an instant. Brands therefore need a very potent social media strategy that caters to the needs of their customers and responds to queries and complaints satisfactorily.
Digital Marketing expert Janet Machuka advises the following:
1. A brand should hire a social media manager if there is no one who has the time to respond to the queries of the customers.
2. Never be afraid to apologize for mediocre service or mistakes made. Customers love being listened to.
3. Employ social media listening tools to cater to brand mentions. Tools such as Hootsuite, Sprout social and Brand 24 can help you know where your brand is being talked about.
4. Automated responses are not all bad. Sometimes you may not be in a position to respond to a query but you can give an automated response that sounds human. However you should ensure that you follow it up with a good, customized response later on.
Janet shares many more tips on her blog on this topic. Read more here.
