From signalling to solutions: 5 tips for web care
Social media is the customer’s domain, in which people continue to share, complain and ask questions. Web care seems to be a common interest for many organizations, yet there are still plenty of potential challenges regarding the commitment of web care. The following web care tips will help you keep track of everything, and are the basis of a good starting point.
Web care starts with good listening. Listening to your customers and your market, and what their needs and wishes are. They complain, question, search and vent. The next step is to determine your strategy, but more on that in our next blog. Finally you will interact with them with the goal of finding a solution or answer (together), since ultimately that is what webcare is all about.
1. Click beyond your own name and accounts
Your accounts are live and your name is (hopefully) well known, so bring on the messages! Look further then your organization name with the help of questionnaires about, for example, your products, services, offices and campaigns.
@kelicious Kan ik je misschien helpen met je vraag? ^FF
— OV-chipkaart (@OVchipkaart) August 28, 2014
2. Be available day and night
Social media is 24/7, even in the weekends. Make sure that you fully resource this coverage. Internally arrange who should take on the availability shifts, dependent on available capacity. Just being attainable during office hours could be an option, but be sure to take care of the previous nights messages.
Handig die webcare van #energiedirect. Pakken mijn ereor zelfde avond al op. Beter!
— Erik Hogeboom 🌳💡 (@erikhogeboom) June 6, 2013
3. Be friendly, respectful and professional
Ligt voor de hand zou je zeggen, maar de praktische uitvoering is lastig. De scheidingslijn tussen vriendelijk en onbeleefd is dun en niet voor iedereen gelijk. De juiste tone of voice is afhankelijk You would say it’s pretty obvious, but the practical implementation says otherwise. There’s a fine line between friendly and rude, and it isn’t equal for everyone. The right tone of voice is dependent of many factors, like the person with whom you’re communicating, the subject, and the context, but also your organizations image. The latter can be used as starting point for your communication style, in tune with your target group(s). #learningbydoing as I always say. Use the feedback, pull you learning’s from your responses.
@ingnl als ik bel, neem jij dan op? Je klinkt aardig. Ik heb het geld nodig voor een ALS challenge en ik wil ook op Charlie Sheen lijken.
— grootst (@Juipe) August 21, 2014
4. Keep your promises
Say what you are doing and saying. Customers want to know what they’re in for, so don’t make any false promises. Agreed, the execution of the solution isn’t always in the hand of the web care-agent with signalling-role, but should definitely be part of the process.
Ja @Nuon dat heeft die colporteur en al eerder jullie afd. webcare ook al beloofd. Maar blijkbaar komt NUON z'n afspraken niet na.
— Marnix Kemme (@MarnixKemme) August 27, 2014
5. Finally, stay authentic and goal orientated
Not every organization has a web care team made up of 11 people. In a lot of cases it’s not even necessary, but try to continuously steer efficiently. Automatic responses based on rules are a nice function, yet it can also backfire, as it did for dominos’. For this reason you should opt for authentic responses, keeping in mind the customers need, and the context in which the communication takes place.
Another point is goal orientation. A good task distribution is essential within a web care. Carelessness, like double responses and missed messages are not the way to go.
@ValerieGim Haha, ik zie dat mijn collega al had gereageerd. Weet u in ieder geval dat er echt geen storing is. 🙂 ^PD
— KPN Webcare (@KPNwebcare) June 7, 2011
Would you like to discuss web care some more? We’ve got your back!
OBI4wan offers extensive possibilities for a structural and efficient settlement of web care activities. Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you might have.