Facebook as a Customer Service Support Tool ? iMediaConnection ...

Facebook Page as a Customer Service Support Tool

Social Media use by persons of all ages continues to grow. ?Facebook is the most used social media tool by people across the world. ?Social Media is not a fad, it's penetrated to become part of our fabric as a society.? As businesses have seen this change, they have responded to incorporate social media as part of their business strategy.

Many use Social Media as part of a sales and marketing strategy but increasingly we are now seeing Social Media, and particularly Facebook, used by businesses as a fast and efficient support and customer service tool.

Here's how Facebook Pages specifically, can be used as a support channel for a business:

As a Announcement Tool

A brand Facebook Page can be ?location used as a announcement tool for service issues.? For example, if there is a new product update, a organization can post a message on their company Facebook Page to let users know the details about this change.? This is a pro-active way to get a message out quickly where customers, fans, and subscribers can see it and potentially Like, Comment, or Share the news. ?The more fans share the news or comment, the further the reach of the information extends.

As a Monitoring Tool

Many social media software services like?HootSuite,?PlanYourPost, and?Sendible allow you to setup searches and monitor terms. ?A business?could monitor terms for their business name so that they catch "social chatter" related to the company and can respond to comments, questions, and complaints.? This is sometimes called "social listening".? Listening and monitoring can help a company offer assistance which can help boost sales and solve customer issues.? Cable giant Comcast is noted for using Twitter as a support tool as they have staff monitoring terms on Twitter, for example, so that they can review and respond if someone is tweeting about a Comcast cable service issue.

As a Quick Response Mechanism

Sometimes the best response is a quick response!? If a customer is having trouble setting up your product, purchasing your product online, or wanting to know something, a quick response can make all the difference in the world in terms of their overall satisfaction.? Allowing users to send your company a Tweet or post on your Facebook page News Feed allows your company the opportunity to publicly respond.? This can solve the issue for the requester but also answer that same question for others who were getting ready to inquire!? This public answering can help elevate your company and be a differentiator between your company and a competitor.

Real World Example on Facebook

A utility provider in Arkansas, Entergy Arkansas, recently used their?Facebook Page as a key support tool during weather related power-outages in their service area.? While the company Facebook Page notes that it is primarily monitored during business hours, the Page offers key resources using?TabSite?s page App tools to add resource tabs to the Fan Page so that users can view information on Facebook about service outages and getting power back.? By posting updates on their Facebook Page and using tabs on their page, fans of the Page are kept abreast of the latest information and can share this with others.

Ultimately, the more options for getting information out quickly and effectively to customers, the better. So, like many businesses, it may be time to take a deeper look at social media not only as a marketing opportunity but also as a support channel.

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Mike Gingerich is a co-founder of TabSite.com, a leader in Facebook fan page tools for businesses. TabSite offers brands the power to boost Facebook marketing . ?For more information on Tabsite, please visit www.tabsite.com.

Source: http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2013/01/21/facebook-as-a-customer-service-support-tool/

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