As a Retail Marketing Director, over the last year I have seen the methods in which consumers want to engage with brands dramatically change. Now for company or product information, consumers may not even directly visit a brand’s website. Instead they want to read or discuss what peers are recommending or share their experiences on third party sites. For instance, 73 percent of consumers have posted a product or brand review on Amazon, Yelp, Facebook, Twitter or another site.
Also, modern consumers may not visit a brand’s brick and mortar store or even shop online from their home office, they may choose to shop ‘on the go’ from their mobile devices. This is an important trend to note, especially since the number of mobile web users worldwide is slated to more than double from 450 million in 2009 to over a billion by the end of 2013 (IDC).
With all of these customer channels and rising expectations for help when and where consumers want it, brands have to start thinking about not only selling in these areas, but delivering exceptional support experiences too. After all, more and more companies are investigating actually selling product on Facebook, quickly becoming known as “F-Commerce.”
If a customer makes a purchase via Facebook or a mobile phone, they will also expect to get support using that channel. According to RightNow’s 2010 Customer Experience Impact Report, 58 percent of consumers expect a response to a comment on a social networking site like Facebook, but only 22 percent actually get them.
So, again what does this mean for brands? Ultimately, the answer lies in extending customer experience support to mobile and social media and brands should consider three fundamentals when getting started:
- Start with good web self-service: Web self-service is the foundation upon which a smart mobile and social media support strategy is built. With this type of solution, knowledge bases are created so customers are empowered to easily find the information they need any time. Overstock.com is one company reaping the benefits of web self-service.
- Offer an integrated social media experience: After web self-service, take it a step further by seamlessly integrating customer service and support to consumers and fans across global social networks, particularly Facebook.
- Support customers on ALL mobile devices – today and in the future: Customers should be supported regardless of device, so support must extend to native mobile apps, mixed mode apps and the mobile web. Chat and web self-service for mobile are two good places to start.
What is in it for brands if they indeed service where they sell? Our Retail Consumer report found 67 percent who got a response from retailers on social sites either deleted their negative review or posted a positive one—a result of brands truly looking to service where they sell. Serving where you sell is becoming an important topic to discuss within customer centric organizations, as highlighted by Kate Leggett’s post from her Forrester blog on a customer service bill of rights. It is worth looking at your brand’s consumer engagements and seeing if you are following empowering these next generation interactions with consumers.
Leave a Reply