@respondquicklyplease

I recently read an article on social media which suggested that consumers contacting brands through Facebook and Twitter had a much higher expectation of fast response times than consumers using other more traditional channels.

This brings about the question of how Brands should respond to this growing trend of ‘social is instant’ and ‘instant is best’.

Surely a consumer is entitled to a great ‘customer experience’ regardless of the channel or channels they choose to communicate via?

Of course it is essential that Brands adopt and respond to new media, and the growing number of consumers using these channels to seek information, contact a brand or comment on products – but the real question is how?

Throwing resources at the challenge is very often the first response but Social Media and the opportunities it provides should be integrated into the core Customer Management, CRM or communications Strategy.

Responding to tweets in a matter of seconds, while a backlog of emails builds up in the website inbox or customers listen to ‘greensleeves’ for two minutes before someone answers the phone is simply not acceptable.

Why not strive to provide an excellent customer experience across all channels at all times?

And, what about customer value? – Surely if you knew a high value customer was waiting for an email response while you deal with a low value prospect, you’d get on the case – and quickly.

The point is that measuring customer value and integrating channels for communication shouldn’t be a ‘nice to have’ – it should be fundamental to the investment in the future of your Brand.

Good consistent customer service delivered across all channels is within reach but needs to be a priority if Brands are to realise the vast opportunity as communications and consumer response expectations evolve.