Social Customer Service and Moderation Trends for 2023
Consumers made a drastic change to online shopping and online engagement with brands over the past few years. As a result, companies are seeing an ever-increasing need to meet customers’ expectations for excellence in customer service with speed, availability, and efficiency more than ever.
Online Moderation is the leader in professional moderation and social customer service, and what we see for the year ahead comes down to this – it’s time to re-evaluate how well you are handling your overall online presence with your customers and potential customers.
Increased Lead Generation or Increased Loss of Sales?
Relying on a ‘shop now’ button on a Facebook ad is simply not enough anymore. What happens under those ads is where the magic happens. Trends are showing that consumers are relying on the comments and interactions, as a community, to help them make their decisions to make purchases. They might ask others what their experiences were and read positive and negative experiences before and after purchases were made. They also read about what people think of the brand’s sales teams, customer service, repairs, deliveries, and other important personal experiences – and THEN they decide whether to follow through with a purchase or getting a quote.
At Online Moderation, we view these small discussions as micro-communities that can influence any brand’s reputation and sales in powerful ways. It is more important than ever for brands to consider having trained social customer service teams taking a strategic approach to managing their social platform engagement.
Quality! Quality! Quality!
Consumers engaging with brands online are savvy, and they can pick out a bot or canned response in a heartbeat. “We are seeing our clients’ customers letting us know how much they appreciate speaking to a friendly, real person, “ says Kate Leighton of Online Moderation. “One of the great things that makes our team stand apart as the go-to choice of so many brands is the way we engage with our clients’ customers. They know we’re real, we care, we’re efficient, we keep the brand voice, and we are part of
their customer care team making sure the customer experience is always excellent.”
We’ll say it again – it’s all about quality. Brands with an online presence are recognizing the importance of high-quality social customer service. Automation may be great for scheduling ads and promotions, but when it comes to creating loyal customers and engagements that create paths to lead generation, the quality of your social customer support is simply more important than ever. This will set your brand apart from your competitors who are, by ignoring interactions on their social platforms, shutting the door in their customers’ faces.
Prevent Damaging Customer Support due to Staffing Shortages
Customer service is about people. We all know that. It’s about engaging with customers and potential customers in a way that creates the best possible authentic experience. As a result, this may lead to leads, increased sales and customer loyalty and referrals.
Today large companies are facing staff shortages either by choice or circumstances, but there are still customers to take care of and a reputation to uphold. The belief that consumers will rely on self-service when it comes to online customer support may be a mistake. We know people want to speak to people. It’s what customer service is all about. An FAQ on a website may be helpful, but who do customers turn to when they have questions that need answering, or when they are angry? They turn to social media and post comments on the brands’ websites, Facebook pages, Twitter, and other social platforms, as well as review sites.
“That’s why Online Moderation is the best,” says Kate. “We are there to protect the reputation of our clients, make sure their customers are taken care of, and give their customers the type of experience the brand wants them to experience. Ignoring social interactions and comments by customers is literally damaging to their business. We are here to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
According to Hootsuite, only 21% of marketers feel they do a good job of servicing customers on social channels
The Phygital customer world expands
What is Phygital? Phygital refers to consumers existing in both the physical and digital world, engaging with brands in both places.
An example of this is a brand that sells a product or service in real life or a brick-and-mortar setting, but they also promote, gain leads, and service customer needs online. Marketers are starting to realize that the physical and digital presence is a combined experience for their customers. Imagine someone shopping for a car online, choosing the car, dealing with customer service online, and then going to pick up the vehicle in person at a dealership and dealing with customer service in person. This is Phygital.
So how does it affect the brand online and the customer journey? Consumers will visit read reviews, read comments from other customers and individuals who have had experiences with the brand on social media platforms such as Facebook or even TikTok, and who have actually seen, touched, and purchased the actual products offered by brands. They read about the digital-to-physical experience others have had – and in 2023 this trend is going to be bigger than ever.
At Online Moderation, we have clients who put a great deal of time and focus on the way their brand is perceived online and offline, and the way their social customer service is handled. They recognize that every post, every comment, every interaction is a potential lead. Together with our professional team of social customer support specialists, we have elevated their customer experience to outstanding levels.
The online moderation and social customer service world continues to evolve, and Online Moderation will always be the industry leader in supporting companies and organizations.
If you would like to schedule a consultation with our team, we would be happy to meet with you at your convenience.
