Twitter as a Customer Service Channel

Twitter is a powerful contact centre channel and should be at least considered by organizations as a customer service tool.

For contact centre managers, Twitter can be a great way to provide almost immediate customer service while deflecting calls to the contact centre. Because of the convenience and immediacy of the channel, Twitter can also provide the benefit of higher first call resolution rates and improve customer satisfaction scores.

Many companies are still hesitant to use Twitter as a method of customer service, but consider this: whether or not your brand is on Twitter, your customers are.

Using Twitter

Twitter is a platform that can help your brand solve customer relations issues quickly. It’s not only one of the easiest ways a company can seek out and help troubled customers, it’s also an excellent way to engage with current clients and work towards converting them into lifelong advocates of your brand. There are several steps brands should take to proactively manage their customer service presence on Twitter:

1. Getting Started on Twitter
   Firstly, you will want to register and select a username that will make it easy for your customers to find you. If your company name is already being used on Twitter, try a common variation. When creating your Twitter profile, be sure to flesh it out as much as possible. Create a short, succinct and informative bio describing what your company does. When selecting a photograph to upload, you may want to consider using either your logo or an easily recognizable image. Finally, consider using a branded background. Twitter offers a variety of free backgrounds, but a branded background will generally make a company’s Twitter page look more professional. Your background doesn’t have to be elaborate - @Quaker is a great example of an understated yet nicely-branded background.  
2. Share Engaging Content
   Twitter pages are an excellent space to engage with your customers via engaging, interesting content. Take some time to think about who your customer is and what sort of content they’d be interested in. @WhereIveBeen and @FourSeasons are great examples of companies that share great content, frequently engage with their fans, offer great advice and make their page an enjoyable place for customers to visit.
3. Create your Community
   Offering your customers promotion codes and fun giveaways on Twitter is a great, easy way to create online brand advocates out of your fans. Promotions will not only reward your current customers, they will also attract new customers to your Twitter page.
4. Give your Customers an Outlet
   Many major brands have begun creating Twitter accounts dedicated solely to customer service. A great example of this is Dell, who runs dozens of support accounts on Twitter to accommodate customers of every language. A customer support account managed by a dedicated contact centre team is a great way to provide immediate customer service.
5. Remember that Good Customer Service Practices Still Apply
   As with Facebook, your company should strive to reply to any customer complaints received on Twitter promptly and respectfully. Do your best to move the conversation to DM (direct message) and avoid a lengthy public discussion. 

Before getting started, you should sit down and decide what elements of your existing customer service strategy you’d like to integrate into your Twitter strategy. It’s important to remember that managing an excellent presence on Twitter will require a daily time investment - typically one to four hours per day, depending on the size of your brand or company. Therefore, if at all possible, leverage your existing contact centre team to monitor your Twitter account throughout the day. Finally, remember that social media is constantly evolving, so it will be important to keep up to date with all the best practices. 

How has Twitter been adopted into your customer service strategy? Who manages this - Marketing or the contact centre? Which tools do you use? Do you have a dedicated team supporting your Twitter activity or is this responsibility shared across a team? What escalation processes do you have in place? How have you measured success?

Kien Quach, AVP, Sales, NCO Group

Tags: Contact Centre, Customer Service, Integration, Social Media