Social Media and The Call Center

Companies need to have a defined strategy toward Social Media in order to leverage it properly.  This means managers must understand SM and feel comfortable engaging with the SMNs such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. To avoid disaster and gain the optimal experience, our experts suggest close monitoring of SM platforms and development of appropriate engagement mechanisms.

Applications and hosted services are available to monitor your SMN’s. It is important to have the ability to monitor and respond where you are being mentioned, and your customers tend to aggregate. Select the Social Media Networks that fit well within your plan, using the P.O.S.T. system:

• P – People: favor those SMNs that attract people who are in your target customer area
• O – Objectives: decide what you want to accomplish with SM
• S – Strategies: plan how to manage these relationships, according to your company’s needs, products, services, etc.
• T – Technology: decide the applications that are best to accomplish these goals

Social Media Networks are a great tool for listening to, and communicating with, your customers. Through Social Media Networks you can:

1. Gauge customer satisfaction & buzz by trolling the Net to:
   • Measure positive and negative attitudes
   • Monitor compliments, complaints and suggestions aimed at your company
   • Inject appropriate comments designed as solutions for customer needs
2. Reduce the number of calls to the center by disseminating information via SMNs
3. Crowdsource: tap into the collective intelligence of the public and use what you learn!
4. Reach broader audiences: gain visibility from potential new customers
5. Foster agent satisfaction: Bringing SM into the center means agents are not taken by surprise by negative items – and can benefit from crowdsourced information and solutions
6. Develop customer retention strategies.

Contact centers need to be involved with the Social Media activities of their companies.  The benefits of this connection will be felt by customers, agents, managers and the enterprise overall.

Tip of the Week: Use active listening of SMNs to identify your “super users” and biggest fans, as well as your detractors. Take a proactive approach to maximize the advantages your company derives from SM, while minimizing the damage done by detractors.

This CallTalk Caramel was compiled and edited by Bruce Belfiore and Kamál Webb.  It was drawn from a CallTalk episode with Kyle Gosnell, entitled “ Social Media and The Call Center: Where Are We Headed?”   To listen to the archived episode, click play below: