Engaging customers in the age of social media

Social media has developed into a mainstream communications channel, which has given rise to today's empowered consumer.

The business to consumer paradigm has forever shifted and it has massive implications across the enterprise.

Today, it's important to watch how consumer behaviour shifts as platforms change and social media usage grows - thanks to the smartphone.

In most cases, social media still resides within the marketing department. But we are seeing this evolve, with a transition to service.

The industry is seeing a turning point where the social media reins will transition from a primary marketing function to a customer service play.

The enormous untapped potential around customer service engagement, powered by social listening, is a key reason for this evolution.

Today, customer service engagement is the new marketing. There are several factors impacting this trend:

CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS

Consumers today expect to be able to reach out and contact companies when they want and how they want - the omnichannel is every brand's new reality.

And social media is the fastest growing channel for customer service. In this region, many markets are mobile first, and it is no surprise that consumers will continue to gravitate towards mobile messaging apps, expecting brands to engage with them there, too.

BUSINESS VALUE

Social media is a much more cost-effective and efficient channel for customer service reps and call centres.

A study by the Aberdeen Group shows that companies that developed social care capabilities improved year-over-year revenue per contact by almost 20 per cent over companies without social customer service.

BRAND REPUTATION

Social service is more than just resolving issues - it drives brand reputation.

Customers who encounter positive social customer care experiences are nearly three times more likely to recommend a brand.

Brands can hear the conversations as they are happening across social media, and they have a direct way to engage, resolve issues and positively impact customers-and those "watching."

Through powerful social listening technologies, brands that engage and delight their customers are seeing big benefits.

SOCIAL MEDIA FUELS UNIFIED CUSTOMER PROFILES

Customer feedback and surveys are important, but they are not good for discovering things you did not know you should ask or look for-that's where social insights play a huge role.

Furthermore, customers today expect businesses to know them and their past history and interaction.

Businesses must take a step back and foster customer data integration from the beginning as it is crucial to understand how, when, where and what customer data is being collected.

Mastering this will enable businesses to compare and analyse KPIs, benchmarks and goals in existing customer contexts. Businesses must not shy away from new technologies.

Instead, they should consider future-proofing their omnichannel strategy by building a strong foundation that facilitates data integration so potential collaborations can be identified from the beginning.

The writer is head of applications, Singapore, Oracle.