Friday, May 04, 2012
More and more, consumers look to social media as a channel for customer support. A TNS study of 1,000 consumers in the United Kingdom found that 15 percent of consumers aged 16 to 24 chose social media as their preferred means of interacting with a company's customer service agents. As time goes on and social media becomes even more prevalent, it is likely that this number will increase.
That is why it is crucial for companies to integrate social media into their contact centers.
As Tim Passios and Blair Pleasant recently argued on TMCnet, new developments in contact center technology make this possibility a reality. Now, contact centers can essentially treat Facebook posts and Tweets the way they treat phone calls and emails. Agents can respond to users immediately, thanks to tracking tools that monitor the company's social media pages, and alert agents to relevant activity.
Additionally, Passios and Pleasant argue that it is possible, and advisable, to implement a strategy that allows for social media interactivity across multiple departments. While many organizations leave social media solely in the hands of marketing, companies that incorporate the platform throughout the organization can reap significantly greater benefits.
