These days everyone from a CRM perspective is talking about ‘social media’, it’s been the buzzword of the decade so far, and doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon. Companies are racing to keep up with the trend, which is all well and good but they first need to get the basics right. Good customer service should be GOOD customer service regardless of channel. Why should using the phone, email, chat or social media each result in a different level of service?
Are you on Facebook?
If I got a dollar for every time I’ve been asked ‘are you on Facebook?’…… we all know the saying but it’s true. Everyone I meet in a social capacity asks ‘are you on Facebook?’ From an organization perspective, I get asked the same question as well with every purchase I make, either online or in a shop, it’s ‘Find us on Facebook’. What happened to an old fashioned ‘See you again’? As a guesstimate, 90% of websites I visit have links to Facebook. It’s everywhere! For those wondering, the answer is no, I’m not on Facebook and I like it that way. Am I being stubborn by refusing to embrace this technology? Probably yes, but that’s my choice and I don’t see why it should affect the level of service I receive as a consumer.
Good Customer Service
Today in the CRM industry, it’s common for different channels to have different service level agreements, which is understandable given the different mediums and costs associated in dealing with these interactions. But in the digital age of instant communication, I struggle to understand why it takes 5 days to get a response to an email about a complaint, which says something to the effect of sorry you had a bad experience but there isn’t much we can do. Whereas if I’d tweeted or complained using Facebook, I would have a response within the hour, which would include a public apology and a full refund! This just highlights the differing levels of customer service within the industry. Having a consistent process in place to deal with customer interactions regardless of channel should be at the core of CRM.
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the significant benefits of social CRM and how powerful it has become, but companies are too quick to jump on the bandwagon. In my opinion, companies need to focus their efforts on getting customer service right at a basic level first before they try and keep up with ever changing technologies and fads. Too many companies are using broken and inconsistent processes to service their customers’ needs, both from an operations and technology standpoint. This is highlighted in the email versus social media complaint scenario above. In this example, the consumer has made the exact same complaint, however the result that they receive from using email is not only delayed but also has a negative outcome. At the end of the day, these customers pay the same money for identical products and services, yet when it comes time for them to make a comment/complaint, customers using social CRM get quicker turnaround times and tend to have more positive outcomes.
With more and more money being invested in social CRM, it appears that other channels could be left at a stand still. Also, where does this leave non-social media users, like me? Having to live with inferior customer service from now on? Currently only 30.5% of Americans have a Facebook account. Admittedly, this is growing significantly but it’s considerably below the percentage of people with phones or internet access for email and chat. That is a large chunk of people who could be missing out on the customer service that they deserve because they don’t use social media channels.
