THE UNDENIABLE AUTHORITY OF THE
SOCIALCUSTOMER

THEDAWNOFTHEDIGITALAGE,along with the explosive growth
of social media, has forced the evolution of customer service. With it came the rise of a new customer—one who has been known to topple even the most respected of brands. THIS NEWFOUND AUTHORITY IS KNOWN AS THE SOCIAL CUSTOMER.

WHOISTHE
SOCIALCUSTOMER?

THE SOCIAL CUSTOMER TOUCHES NEARLY
EVERY CORNER OF THE GLOBE. 20% AT LEAST 20% OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION USES SOCIAL MEDIA. THAT’S MORE THAN HALF OF THE 2.4 BILLION INTERNET USERS ACROSS THE WORLD.

TODAY’S SOCIAL CUSTOMER IS: …WHICH
HAS CHANGED EVERYTHING BUSINESS OWNERS THOUGHT THEY KNEW ABOUT CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS. LISTENING TO PEERS RESEARCHING HEAVILY ONLINE POSTING COMPLAINTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

EXPECTATIONS ARE HIGH. In today's
age of constant connectivity and instant solutions, the Social Customer demands immediate assistance at any hour of the day.

46% 22% 29% FACEBOOK 46%
of customers want to engage with brands via Facebook to solve problems. 39% of them are looking to give feedback about products or services. 29% of customers expect responses within 2 hours. 22% of customers expect same-day responses.

TWITTER 81% of Twitter users
expect same-day customer service responses. 30% of Twitter users expect responses within 30 minutes. 22% of Twitter users expect responses within 2 hours. 81% 22% 30%

MORE THAN 1 MILLION PEOPLE
view tweets about customer service every week. ROUGHLY 80%of customer service tweets are negative or critical in nature. SOCIAL MEDIA HAS PROVIDED AN INTIMATE CONNECTION AMONG ALL CONSUMERS.

On average, 1 SOCIAL CUSTOMER
will tell 42 OTHER PEOPLE about a company. 88% OF CUSTOMERS are influenced by reading reviews. 88% SOCIAL CUSTOMERS NO LONGER LISTEN TO COMPANY MESSAGES; THEY’RE LISTENING TO PEERS INSTEAD. THE POWER HAS SHIFTED FROM BRANDS TO THEIR CUSTOMERS.

HOW DOES THIS SHIFT IN
AUTHORITY AFFECT CUSTOMER SUPPORT FOR BUSINESSES?

UNFORTUNATELY, MANY ORGANIZATIONS STILL DO
NOT BELIEVE IN THE AUTHORITY OF THE SOCIAL CUSTOMER. 60%of companies don't respond to customers via social media, even when asked direct questions. 7 OF THE TOP 20 retailers have even erased customer questions on their Facebook pages.

88% of consumers are less
likely to buy from companies that ignore complaints and questions on social media. ONLY 17% of consumers who had negative service experiences recommend those companies in the future. 88% 17% BUT THEY’RE PAYING FOR IT… MONEY SHREDDER

THE MOST SOCIALLY PROACTIVE COMPANIES
SEE SOLID RESULTS: Customers who engage with companies over social media spend 20% to 40% more money with those companies than other customers. 81% of companies with strong capabilities for delivering excellent customer service are out-performing their competitors. 81%

HOW SHOULD YOU PREPARE YOURSELF
FOR THE COMING AGE OF THE SOCIALCUSTOMER?

NO MATTER HOW EMBARRASSED OR
FRUSTRATED YOU MAY FEEL WHEN A CUSTOMER COMPLAINS ON SOCIAL MEDIA, YOU SHOULD ALWAYS RESPOND. 83%of customers who tweet complaints love it when companies respond.

WHEN RESPONDING TO THE SOCIAL
CUSTOMER, DON’T FORGET TO: STRIVE FOR FAST RESPONSE TIMES. BE HUMAN AND, AT TIMES, APPLY HUMOR. DON’T BE DEFENSIVE. ALWAYS THANK THE CUSTOMER. SUGGEST A SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM. 1 2 3 4 5

TO IMPROVE YOUR COMPANY’S OVERALL
PLAN FOR SOCIAL CUSTOMER SERVICE, CONSIDER THESE TIPS: LISTEN TO YOUR CUSTOMERS AND BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEM. DESIGNATE AT LEAST ONE MEMBER OF YOUR COMPANY TO BE AVAILABLE 24/7 ON SOCIAL MEDIA. STRIVE TO ALWAYS PROVIDE LINKS TO HELPFUL INFORMATION AT THE END OF EACH RESPONSE. HAVE A DETAILED CRISIS-MANAGEMENT PLAN. COMMIT RANDOM ACTS OF WOW FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS.

EVEN IF THE CHANNELS (FACEBOOK,
TWITTER, ETC.) EVOLVE, THE SOCIAL CUSTOMER IS HERE TO STAY. IN THE NOT-SO-DISTANT FUTURE, CONSUMERS WILL EXPECT EVEN FASTER RESPONSES FROM COMPANIES LIKE YOURS. DON’T LET YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE EFFORTS FALL BEHIND!

DESK.COM IS THE ONLY CUSTOMER
SERVICE PRODUCT BUILT FROM THE GROUND UP TO SERVE THE NEW SOCIAL CUSTOMER. VIEW AND RESPOND TO YOUR SOCIAL CUSTOMERS DIRECTLY FROM WITHIN DESK.COM. Sources: pewinternet.org, forrester.com, conecomm.com, oracle.com, touchagency.com, zendesk.com, americanexpress.com, liveops.com, crmidol.com, nmincite.com, inc.com, peppersandrogersgroup.com, maritzresearch.com SIGN UP FOR YOUR FREE 14-DAY TRIAL OF DESK.COM TODAY! CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED