BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here
Edit Story

Social Media Customer Service Is A Failure!

Xerox

By Frank Eliason

The headline to this post is certainly not a statement you would expect to hear from the person formerly known as @ComcastCares, but I think it is an important perspective to consider if we are to build stronger relationships with customers. As I look around I see many interesting aspects of social media from large and small businesses. And I am very excited to see companies trying new things to reach their customers. But we are now moving in a new direction and I think too few see it yet.

Today I am SVP of Social Media for Citibank (of course thoughts here are my own). I have had the privilege to see the impact social media can have on big businesses and I look forward to watching this come to reality. A few key observations I have had are:

  • It all starts with trust
  • Stories are the most powerful way to create and reinforce change
  • Human connections are against the grain for many businesses, but imperative for social media success
  • Many people are trying to make money off business leaders who do not understand social media (and they are being successful at it)
  • We are so stuck on measurements, yet we are measuring the wrong things

In social media, people are focusing on the completely wrong metrics and not properly educating executives on the real story of social media. Today, companies are focusing on metrics such as ‘likes,’ fans, followers, etc. These metrics tell you nothing of substance. Few companies tie this information directly to their customers through measurements such as the net promoter score of the social customer, what products they are buying, etc. Most companies proclaim to be ‘listening’ in the space but very few have changed or implement processes or products based on this listening. Huge ROI can be gained just by measuring changes that stem from listening. It’s sad to say, but the only changes I have seen are those due to large or threatening groundswells. And in my view, change was only made to silence the noise.

This brings me to the failure of social service. Recently someone tweeted me asking about current costs of phone calls versus the cost per Tweet for customer service. Ugh! This is new media and yet we’re already focusing on old metrics. The truth is that the service world has been broken for years because of the emphasis of handle time or calls per hour. Companies do not want to talk to you, and it shows. The fact is most do not want to Tweet with you either. Since they are worried about brand sentiment, they may appease you to shut you up.

In order for social media service to scale, change MUST happen. Companies must care. New metrics must surface that place the customer back in customer service.

I do not get a sense however, that much has changed in the way businesses run, no matter how engaged in social media they are today. This is not because the scaling is not possible, because for the most part you can queue up a tweet just as easily as you queue up a call. The trouble is the efforts are not leading to wholesale change in the way companies interact with their customers. If you are simply placating loud customers, all you are really doing is encouraging others to focus on the channels where they believe resolution awaits.

If you truly want to influence brand perception, companies must:

  • Empower employees (they are the life blood and the greatest ambassadors for your brand)
  • Improve the customer experience, not just through service, but the entire experience with your company (please note I did not limit that to products or departments because most businesses are one brand)
  • Be more nimble and not so stuck on processes that prevent change
  • STOP being afraid of your customer! If anyone is afraid to speak to a customer, you are doing the wrong things
  • STOP minimizing the value of your customer! They are more influential to you in the post-commerce phase than you can imagine.

I personally love the customer; they are my passion and success. I represent them in everything I do. I use their stories to drive change. It is something you may want to do, too.

Frank Eliason is Citibank’s Senior Vice President of Social Media, and has been described as the “most famous customer service manager in the U.S., possibly the world.” You can connect with him on Twitter at @FrankEliason or via his blog at frankeliason.com