Think Customers: The 1to1 Blog

I recently discussed this issue with Randy Brasche, director of product marketing, Genesys, at Alcatel-Lucent. According to Brasche, service is no longer happening solely in the contact center; marketing, PR, and even the back office are getting an increasing number of calls, emails, and social-based communications regarding service issues. These growing silos are creating huge complexity.

"We've reached an inflection point," he said. "Companies need to invest in social media monitoring and in getting that information to the contact center."

Brasche revealed the four phases of connecting the dots between social media and customer service:

Listen: It's essential to listen to what customers are saying in social channels to gain an understanding of those customers, as well as to determine why they're discussing your brand. Many companies are just starting to do this, he said.

Prioritize: Tracking comments is imperative, but it's also essential to decide what to do with the information and how to rank its value. For example, is it more important to follow up on comments made by high-value customers or key influencers than on those made by other customers? How quickly should you respond? Companies can use internal service-level agreements to set response times based on channel, issue, and customer type. Also, what is the appropriate treatment strategy based on both the comment or complaint and the type of customer or influencer?

Engage: Companies must determine how to properly engage customers who have used social sites to comment, complain, or request assistance. What is the right information, resource, or offer to provide to customers who are seeking service resolution through social channels? Additionally, who is the most appropriate person to reach out to the customer? It may be a service rep, a marketer, or a salesperson depending on the issue or request.

Integrate: Silos are out. It's necessary to integrate touchpoints. "Companies must think holistically," he said. Customers are using multiple channels to interact with the companies they buy from; companies need to have a complete view of those multichannel interactions. Enterprises also need to communicate with customers based on their customers' channel preferences.

"There's a tremendous opportunity awaiting companies that integrate social media monitoring and customer service," Brasche said.