customer service
posted by Public Relations
Not too long ago, we outlined some social media trends for 2012 on our blog. One of our predictions included a call for social customer service to improve, and what we’ve seen lately has been less than impressive.
Palm Springs: Visitors bureaus should be cashing in.
I recently tagged along with my husband to Palm Springs, Calif. He had a conference to attend. Me, well, I didn’t have to do much of anything but lie by the pool (I know, I can feel your jealousy from here). Vacation or no vacation, if you truly have a passion for social media, you’re always experimenting and testing.
We arrived on Super Bowl Sunday and because we are not very familiar with the area or its local sports bars, I decided to tweet to the visitors bureau to see if they could provide any recommendations.
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TAGS:
thundertech, monitoring, brands, marketing, social, Twitter, monitor, tool, Palm Springs, interaction, customer service, ROI, online, conversation, social mediaIf we learned anything about social media in 2011, it’s that it is
almost impossible to predict, but we figured we would try to anyway,
just for fun. Check out what we think will happen with social media
marketing in 2012:
Your friends will have more influence than ever
(Yes,
we started off with an easy one.) We’ve already seen Facebook place a
large amount of weight on the “share” button as it now appears on every
wall post, and new analytics keep track of how many people share your
brand with their friends.
In addition to that, the recent introduction of Google’s social search
shows your friends’ likes, dislikes and overall commentary on almost
anything you search. We saw this rise toward the end of last year and
then receive a power boost at the start of 2012. This will only continue
as marketers have determined that you are more likely to make a
purchase based on a friend’s recommendation.
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TAGS:
thundertech, pr, public relations, social media, 2012, trends, predictions, social search, customer service, ROI, social TV, getglue, influence, onlineAn email just came in from the website! A potential customer emailed you
directly after perusing your corporate site and is requesting more
information.
You follow up with that customer, of course, with pricing information and await a response.
It
never comes. In a month, you forget that potential because your inbox
was so cluttered that the emails eventually just caved in on themselves.
You never follow up, you never get a chance to discover how they found
your site in the first place.
You never post to the website the
specific question the customer asked so others might find the answer
more quickly because you don’t want to pay a freelance developer
hundreds of dollars for some edits. You never mention the topic and
answer on Facebook or Twitter because you don’t even know who is
listening.
If this sounds ridiculous yet familiar, don’t feel
bad. In our experience, there is always something more you as a marketer
can be doing to generate more visibility, better service and higher
sales.
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TAGS:
thundertech, Data, Development, web, marketing., stack, marketing stack, customer service, website, social media, digital marketing, digital, services, offerings, solutions, API, CRM, CMS, search optimization, search, emailDave Berman, thunder::tech's art director and creative department manager,
recently went on summer vacation and brought back three important
lessons, as well as some insights on brand management.
- Lesson 1: If you want to rent a convertible in California
during the summertime, it's advisable that you reserve it months in
advance. Otherwise, you chance spending the week in a Kia Sportage
(sorry, just not a fan).
- Lesson 2: Balance your role as both driver and passenger,
otherwise you will be the proud recipient of the ol' "one-arm-out-the-window tan."
- Lesson 3: The importance of branding and periodically
revisiting your brand is immeasurable ... yes, apparently I can't get
away from my work mentality even on vacation.
During my time on the West Coast, three brands in particular caught my
attention and made me pause to think. And when I say "brands," I'm not
ogling a few slick logos or passing along a slew of YouTube videos of
great commercials. I'm saying these brands have fully considered the
experience of being a brand and the message behind that experience:
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TAGS:
thundertech, branding, brand experience, brand messaging, design, seperating brands, customer service, brand postitioning, brand messaging process, west coast, california, brand platform, brand messaging, brand identity, brand managementMany brands spent 2010 collecting friends, followers and likes on their
various social networks. This is the year to do something with your
established network.
It's like the box of baseball cards (or
vintage Barbie dolls) still sitting in your parents’ attic (that you
hope they didn't throw away) - they're not worth anything unless you
have a plan to take advantage of their value. Many brands are sitting on
thousands (or more) fans and are letting them collect dust. Make it
your marketing department or agency’s resolution to activate this fan
base in 2011.
Conversation, contests and link sharing are great,
but don't forget that these fans chose to follow your brand. This means
that they are either current or potential buyers or want to engage for
some other reason. If you haven’t already, reach out to your product
development, human resources (HR) and customer service departments to
add ways to interact with your fan base.
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