Social Listening Redefines Customer Service

In the past, when a customer encountered an issue with your brand or product, they would reach out to your business by phone, letter or email. However, social media has become the new hub for customer service and brand messaging. The issues that used to be solved by a customer service representative can now displayed publicly on a variety of platforms for the entire world to see. If you aren’t social listening, you probably won’t have an accurate read on how your company is perceived by current customers and prospective ones. You may also be doing yourself a disservice when it comes to negative reviews and comments in the future.

Social listening is the process of understanding the online conversation about a company or brand, as well as its products and services. It will demonstrate your share of voice on a pertinent topic among the competition,  help you figure out what customers are saying about you,  what they think, how they feel and what they need from your business. It can appear in the form of a social post, comment, direct message, tag or review.

How Do I Social Listen?

It’s important to manage social listening as you would the customer service department onsite at your business.

1. Respond in a timely fashion to negative and positive messages. Facebook rates businesses based on their response time!
2. Determine what you will and won’t respond to. Sometimes people share opinions that are just plain off the wall. There is no rationalizing with crazy. Determine if the complaint or comment has a resolution and if it comes from a truthful place. If it doesn’t, do not respond. It will eventually become less prominent on your pages and the good ones will take its place.
3. Set reminders to check your social inboxes multiple times throughout the day. Whether someone is asking about your business hours, a job opening or what services you provide, they expect quick answers and if they don’t receive them, there is the possibility they will either leave you a negative review or write a negative post and tag you in it. Negative reviews and tags are hard to fix, so it’s important to stay ahead of replies.
4. Watch what your competitors are doing. Keep a regular eye on what your competitors are saying, how they are responding and how they are portraying themselves. This will keep you keen on how you can position your brand differently and perhaps, how you can improve things at your own place of business.
5. Digest what your followers have to say about you. By listening to your customers, you will learn about the services and products of yours they love the most, which ones you may want to improve, and how you can further promote positive feedback on your brand.

Sound a little time consuming? It is, but CreateHealth is here to help. We social listen for a variety of clients to troubleshoot needs quickly and carefully. Social listening is an evolution of public relations, an area where we have significant experience. Let us help you listen and learn from what your customers have to say about you!