Tweet. Tweet. Like. Tweet. Tweet. Post. Tweet. Tweet. Share.

Retweet and Repeat.

Whether you are a small business owner, or a marketer at a large firm, you are probably figuring out how to use social media to your advantage. We all know that by releasing very relevant content into the world about our company, product, or service, there is a higher chance someone will share it. The more interesting the Facebook post or tweet is to your audience, the better the chance is for you to make a few new friends. And those new friends may just become new customers. As Bob Furniss recently reminded us, the average reach for a Facebook post is 30,000. That’s a considerable number of people that could quickly and pretty efficiently be introduced to the cool new thing you are selling or talking about.

Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

I wish it were that good for customer service. Those of us on the receiving end of angry tweets and disgruntled Facebook posts are often caught off guard with the passion with which customers want to proclaim their dissatisfaction. So what do we contact centers do?

Recently, I came across the term #sociallydevoted, which was coined by Socialbakers, a global social media and digital analytics firm. Socially devoted is meant to be "the new standard of customer care in social media,” which is based on three principles:

1. You have to be open to feedback.
2. You have to respond.
3. You have to respond quickly.

In all honesty, I think these are the right principles to apply when responding to any social commentary on your product, service or brand. Good, bad or indifferent, if someone takes the time to discuss publicly how they feel, then you need to be open, responsive, and expeditious. But, before you hit the send button, I encourage you to consider one more vital element.

4. You have to respond with care.

Let’s face it: it’s simply too easy to respond carelessly to social media complaints and concerns. We have a visceral reaction when someone says something we don’t like or agree with, especially when done in public. And that hasty response can be more damaging than the original complaint. You need to train your contact center staff to be as calm and diligent in responding to Facebook posts as they do to emails. Your QA team needs to be monitoring and scoring the interactions just like they would on a phone call.

So yes, Socialbakers is correct for the most part. Customer loyalty is no longer enough; we strive for social devotion. However, even with all the new social channels and an ever-changing terminology, a lot of the old contact center rules still apply. Service levels, QA, forecasting and scheduling…all are still necessary with social media. By knowing the foundations of customer service, we can adapt better and faster to the nuances of social.

Come check us out at Dreamforce this year. ICMI has partnered with salesforce.com to offer ten unique classes on customer service and contact centers as well as being a partner with Bluewolf in booth #811. There’s something in every session that pertains to the traditional and the social. By modifying the foundations, your customers will be socially devoted to you in no time.

Sarah L. Stealey
Editor-At-Large | ICMI, International Customer Management Institute

Sarah is currently the VP of iContact Services for Vocus, and also acts as the Editor-at-Large for ICMI, where she is helping set the future content and community strategy. She’s a frequent blogger and social poster, and speaks on Customer Support and Social Media at national events including ACCE and Dreamforce. 

Twitter: @sstealey
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sarahstealey