Customers are every business’s powerhouse. Without them, how would any business survive? Nowadays, everyone understands the importance of customers and their experience with a business. Those businesses that prioritize customers are reaping the benefits.
In fact, over 80% of companies that prioritize customer experience report an increase in revenue. But in the digital world we live in, it can be difficult to build the same experience digitally with customers as you would in an actual office or storefront. Fortunately, customers turn to a common spot for information—social media.
Social media can be used as a powerful medium to improve your digital customer experience strategy. Through social platforms, you can inform, educate and build brand trust and loyalty. Let’s dig in and discover how you can use the power of social media to enhance your digital customer experience strategy.
The digital customer experience is just what it sounds like—the experience customers have with a company digitally. Understanding digital customer experience is another thing. It’s not only about how customers interact with your brand online, but also how you’re connecting with them, solving their issues and answering their questions in efforts to create a positive encounter with them.
According to Qualtrics, 65% of customers stated that their experience on the website or app would be at least a “very important” factor in their willingness to promote a brand. For businesses, this means that investing in their digital customer experience strategy is a must.
Social media isn’t just a place to share your latest blog or website page. It’s a place to interact with your audience and potential customers. Here are a few ways you can leverage social media to boost your digital customer experience.
According to HubSpot, social listening refers to the monitoring of your brand's social media channels for any customer feedback and direct mentions of your brand or discussions regarding specific keywords, topics, competitors or industries, followed by an analysis to gain insights and act on those opportunities. What are people saying about your brand or products, and more importantly, how can you improve that customer’s experience? Consider this when planning future content and business strategies.
For example, say you’re a phone case manufacturer. You see several indirect comments about the limited number of phone case colors you produce. You also see that your main competitor is producing even more colors and different styles. You would use this as an opportunity to plan to improve your business offerings for the future.
Want to know what’s even better? You can respond to your audience and let them know their comments are being taken into consideration. Customers then exit the social platform feeling valued and heard. Through social listening, you have the opportunity to meet the needs of users and create the content they both need and want.
Social media platforms provide a plethora of metrics you can use to learn more about your audience and the social content they’re interacting with. Use these tools to find out what content is resonating with your audience. What posts are drawing in a ton of attention? Is a certain post getting more shares than another? Take the data into consideration and use your insights to create more valuable content for your users and create a positive digital experience.
An estimated 56% of consumers will unfollow a brand if they have poor customer service. Yet, many businesses still don’t see the value of social media channels as a customer service outlet. Social media gives users the opportunity to provide you with feedback and share their input. It also gives them a chance to ask questions and hear from fellow users.
Simply answering a user’s question can show that you’re committed to creating a relationship with them. Likewise, you’re showing other users that you genuinely care about your potential and/or current customers. By adding a defined social media customer service plan as part of your digital customer experience strategy, you can build an army of brand advocates for the world to see.