Using Social Media to Increase Customer Loyalty?
As a creative, you know that building a brand is essential to your success. You also know that social media is a powerful tool that can help you connect with your target audience, share your work, and build customer loyalty.
I was reading a few interesting articles and surveys about how brands and companies now use dedicated social media customer service teams to support their brand loyalty which got me thinking!
What do you do when you need customer support from a brand or company?
Do you send an email?
Pick up the phone, hold for ages?
Or, do you try contacting them via social media first?
Not every business may use social media for customer support, especially when a booking system is in place. There might be a process to follow.
Yet, more and more, it’s often quicker and easier to receive information from a company’s socials vs calling/emailing and waiting several days for a response or outcome.
Not only is this helpful for customers, but it is also an excellent way to build your brand loyalty by leading the way with an excellent customer service experience.
The devil is in the details
The devil is in the details, and a collection of these details leaves a positive impression on people.
Being attentive to your customers’ needs builds trust and improves your reputation, which can help position yourself against your competitors while travelling far and wide by word-of-mouth recommendations based on positive experiences.
A consumer survey from Yopto found noteworthy reasons why 80% of customers become loyal to brands, including great deals, sales, above and beyond customer service. (Source Sprout Social).
Great customer service increases brand loyalty.
These days, most major brands or companies use social media and, more often than not, will offer customer support via social platforms.
If your business receives lots of inquiries yet cannot handle them swiftly? Depending on size, it may be worth considering hiring a dedicated person or small team whose role is to handle queries quickly.
The technological world we live in is fast; snooze, you may lose!
I know that sounds so harsh, but I think we may have all been there at some point.
Ever tried to contact, say, a hair salon, for example? Their work looks great. You want to find more information; how much to make my hair look like that as your base inquiry before taking any other action?
Yet, when you go to their profile, there’s no website or landing page to help you base your research – what services do they offer? What are their opening times? Can I speak to someone?
So, you send a direct message or an email… crickets!
Would this kind of experience inspire confidence in the company? Or stimulate feelings of loyalty?
Probably not – though this is most likely not intentional!
But sadly, what happens next?
You see another salon. You’re following similar accounts because you need a haircut.
This profile appears to be much more engaged with its audience. They appear to be active online. All the base information to start your consideration process is available, so you move along to someone who appears to “want “your business.
But that initial salon probably does want your business too!
Yet they, for whatever reasons, don’t have the manpower or capacity to fully manage the volume of inquiries. As a result, it can cost both reputation and business.
It’s not their fault. Who knows what’s going on, but the fact is, when we want something if we have to wait too long, chances are we will move to a competitor.
Do you feel you are maximising all your online opportunities?
Do you feel you are maximising all your online opportunities, or are you aware of gaps in your customer service experience?
Customer loyalty is essential for any business – but it can be tricky to gain (and keep!) loyal customers these days. However, by using social media effectively, you can absolutely increase customer loyalty.
Remember these tips; be yourself, remain as consistent as you can, start slow if that’s realistic and always aim to share valuable content that helps your audience. Engage with your audience and have someone, or create time to check your social inboxes for any new queries.
If you do all of this, you’ll be well on your way to gaining (and keeping!) loyal customers who love your brand!
Rowena
I can help you manage your platforms, provide you with an audit or strategy, and if you've got a burning social media question, you can inquire for a power hour call to dig into your problem.
The world has gone digital, whether we like it or not!
When working with me, you can ensure your approach is strategic and in alignment with you and your brand while being up to date with current platform features, tactics and
yields positive results for your business.
To learn more, I'd love you to check out my services page and send me your inquiry, should you have one.
