7 semi-random tips about doing social customer service right.

1. #socialstrategy series | jeromepineau.com
“7 SOCIAL SERVICE TIPS”
an enterprise perspective

2. 1. strategy
social what?
A social media strategy is not about figuring
out whether to use Twitter or Facebook.

3. 2. great service
don’t serve me bro!
The best service type you can possibly
provide is no service at all.Your stuff “just
works”. The phones don’t ring.
Customers don’t appreciate or need
interruption in their work. Customers don’t
feel giddy about “doing social” with you.
They want a working product or service.
Having to contact you, whether through
Phone, email or Twitter, isn’t their idea of a
productive time.They’re not amused.

4. 3. contact points
within the flow
If you do have to provide service and
support, the best contact point is deep
within the customer’s existing work stream
to minimize the interruption and maximize
delivery speed.
So striving to be everything to everyone on
every channel at every time of day and night
is not a strategy. It’s wishful thinking.

5. 4. Service@Scale
what you can’t scale
There’s two types of service and support.
The kind only your company can provide,
and the sort customers can provide to one
another within a compelling community.
Strategize towards the latter.The former
cannot scale.

6. 5. one-click service
the mayday button
Short of in-product referencing, the vast
majority of customers will reach your
support lines and content via Google.
How many clicks does it take them from the
Google home page to a resolution?
Part of your social support strategy should
be to bring those down to one.They have
one-click shopping.Why not one-click
service?

7. 6. humanize it
social = human
One powerful aspect of social service is its
uncanny ability to “broadcast your
humanity” throughout. And showcase it to
the world in the process. Or not.
Strategize to humanize your brand as part of
social service. Otherwise you’re missing half
the benefit. And half the loyalty.

8. 7. network it
dark fiber
Social service can only succeed as an
enterprise-wide effort. It’s not about a
“customer service department” that
happens to be “social”.
It’s about assembling an internal social
business network built around what matters
to customers (see slide #2). Customer
support may or may not lead the charge.
As one ex boss of mine likes to say “it’s
about lighting up the dark fiber”.