Social media has changed how consumers engage with businesses and companies. Users have now gained access to public platforms that allows them to voice out their thoughts and opinions.
As a result, those opinions can now reach a larger scale, with the power to propel a service or a company to success. On the other hand, it is also capable of damaging a brand’s reputation that they have painstakingly built for years.
The discussion is still there whether or not you want to offer customer support on social media. In fact, using social media as a customer support channel is fairly essential these days. Most big brands out there are not just keen on adopting social customer service.
However, businesses should prioritize this. Why? Because about two-thirds of users contact companies on social media mainly for customer service purposes.
Through Facebook Messenger, it is now relatively easy for people to contact companies via messages. Although there are still companies who are a bit cautious of using Messenger for their business, a lot of people are actively seeking out this channel.
In this post, we will provide you with some effective tips on how you can use Facebook Messenger to give your customers excellent customer service:
How to enable Messenger on your Facebook Business Page
First and foremost, you need to have Messenger set up in your Facebook Business Page. Listed below are the steps on how you can activate the Messenger function, and easily set this up in your Manage Page settings tab:
- At the very top of your page, hit Settings.
- Then, from General, click Messages.
- Check the box right next to “Allow people to contact my Page privately.”
- Finally, hit Save Changes.
Send a welcome greeting
At its core, a welcome greeting is a message that is sent automatically for every new conversation a user has with your company.
Although it is not the most advanced customer service techniques, it is a great opportunity to set the tone of the conversion from the very start. It is also an excellent way to show off your brand’s personality.
Ideally, your welcome greeting should entice the prospect to start a conversation with you. Moreover, it also shows that you are more than happy to speak with users who connect with you on Messenger.
Respond quickly and consistently
Customers want a quick response. To give you an idea of what we are talking about, let’s dive straight right in the Facebook business page.
Have you ever come across the very responsive to messages badge? Well, that badge shows how pages respond quickly and consistently to messages.
To get this badge, you must have a 90 percent response rate with a response time of 15 minutes or less in seven days.
In relation to this, customers also want customer support, 24/7. Chances are, issues are expected to arise at night or even on weekends. In fact, 57% expect the same response time on weekends or at night as with normal business hours.
Facebook Messenger makes your support team a lot more efficient. Not to mention, you will see a huge shift from inbound calls to messaging, which is more cost-effective in the long run.
So, be sure to respond immediately with your customers in messaging, like you would in other platforms.
Hire highly-skilled communicators to run your page
Ensure that the agents you hire are already well-versed in social media support, and has received enough coaching before you let them handle customers.
Not you only need resourceful staff; they should also have a solid grasp of style and language. Hire people that can exercise good judgment, who can act professionally, and has a solid understanding of the type of language that you use in a customer service environment. That will prevent any horrible customer escalations and other PR nightmares from ever happening.
Initiate a private conversation with anyone on your comment section
You can also lookout for ways wherein you can initiate private conversations.
Facebook has already added a feature to place a clear notice when you respond privately to a post or comment. That will let the public know that you already started a private conversation.
This new feature is helpful, especially if there is a matter that you want to address privately.
Find a balance between technology and the human touch
When it comes to dealing with a lot of questions from customers, it is sometimes easy to respond like a machine with perfectly canned answers.
But the truth is, you need to treat every customer conversation in Messenger as if it is a normal conversation or a phone call from a customer.
Do not be a robot.
You know what they say about first impressions. That may be the very first time a potential customer reaches out to your brand or business. So make those first impressions count.
Personalize each conversation
Adding a personal touch means that you need to address your customers by name, whenever they leave feedback or questions on your page.
Do you know that calling people by their names is one of the sweetest (and most important word) in their whole dictionary? So, whenever possible, respond to the conversation on a first-name basis.
When you have the time before responding to a message, take your time browsing and learning more about the user. You will be able to know basic information such as their name, gender, location, and even their likes. Your goal here is to play it smart. Engage the user instead of having a standardized approach to every single conversation.
Doing so helps build trust over time. It also leads to more interesting conversations, as well.
Embracing Facebook Messenger
At the end of the day, the very core of customer service is meeting your customer’s needs, no matter what platform they use to reach out to you.
Facebook Messenger is another excellent way to conduct private and meaningful conversations with clients. Not to mention that it could be one of the most convenient ways for both parties to acquire and provide customer support.
About the Author – Kevin Urrutia is the founder of Voy Media, a New York Adwords Company. He is dedicated to helping businesses triumph over the ever-changing marketing landscape. He crafts results-oriented solutions that are tailor-fit for each client his team works with.
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