There’s plenty of buzz in retail about social customer service, but reality is that few companies, if any at all, have truly figured out how best to service customers across all social platforms. Many disgruntled customers will turn to Twitter for timely help during the holidays, especially when they haven’t received fast and friendly help in another channel.
A new report by social customer service platform Conversocial shows that top retailers received twice the average daily volume of tweets during the holiday period when compared to October, and (not surprisingly) the volume of customer service tweets correlates with the retailer’s tweets about sales, events and promotions.
For the report, Conversocial analyzed 200,000 “@ mentions” from 10 major retailers during Holiday 2012: Barney’s, JC Penney, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Saks, Sears, Target, Urban Outfitters, and Walmart. Key findings include:
Walmart had the highest number of Tweets over the holiday period (16,267) followed by Target (12,094).
JC Penney had the highest percentage of tweets about in-store experiences from shoppers at nearly 30%.
Average daily volume during the week after Cyber Monday surged to 5x volumes in October.
Nearly half of the @ mentions that Kohl’s received also included holiday specific keywords, 33% higher than the next closest retailer, Sears.
Macy’s had the highest number of Tweets about customer satisfaction, and the fewest Tweets about customer service issues.
Interesting findings, but what can be done by retailers to prepare? Conversocial has the following recommendations:
Ensure that social service resources are matched to outbound campaigns.
Properly prepare your team well in advance of promotional offers that may result in product availability issues.
When training multi-channel agents, focus on tone of voice, how to handle issues in public (as opposed to more private channels they may be used to, like email and phone), and relevant tools and processes.
Enforce a stricter approval and escalation process in the holiday period.
Consider extending social customer service hours to 24/7 (if not already) to meet the hours your shoppers will be online.
One NM Incite study from 2012 found that 71% of customers who have a positive experience on social networks are likely to recommend that brand to others. By ensuring your social customer service agents are well prepared for the holidays, you can take control of your brand’s reputation and deliver experiences that your customers will tell their friends and family about at the Christmas table.
The full Conversocial report, including 12 days of tips for retailers, is available for download here. [Registration required]
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Previously on Happy Customer:
These Retailers Picked Up the Phone in 30 Seconds or Less on Black Friday
Ecommerce Spending on Black Friday Hit a Record $1.2 Billion
Black Friday, Cyber Monday Performance Shows Opportunity For Retailers To Stand Apart