SOCIALNDENIABLEAUTHORITYOFTHETHEDAWNOFTHEDIGITALAGE,ongwiththeexplosivegrowthfsocialmedia,hasforcedthevolutionofcustomerservice.Withitcametheriseofanewustomer—onewhohasbeennowntotoppleeventhemostespectedofbrands.EWFOUNDAUTHORITYISKNOWNASTHESOCIALCUSTOMER.WHOISTHESOCIALCUSTOMER?THESOCIALCUSTOMERTOUCHESNEARLYEVERYCORNEROFTHEGLOBE.20%ATLEAST20%OFTHEWORLD’SPOPULATIONUSESSOCIALMEDIA.THAT’SMORETHANHALFOFTHE2.4BILLIONINTERNETUSERSACROSSTHEWORLD.TODAY’SSOCIALCUSTOMERIS:HHASCHANGEDEVERYTHINGSSOWNERSTHOUGHTTHEYKNEWCUSTOMERRELATIONSHIPS.LISTENINGTOPEERSRESEARCHINGHEAVILYONLINEPOSTINGCOMPLAINTSONSOCIALMEDIAEXPECTATIONSAREHIGH.Intoday'sageofconstantconnectivityandinstantsolutions,theSocialCustomerdemandsimmediateassistanceatanyhouroftheday.FACEBOOK46%46%ofcustomerswanttoengagewithbrandsviaFacebooktosolveproblems.39%ofthemarelookingtogivefeedbackaboutproductsorservices.29%29%ofcustomersexpectresponseswithin2hours.22%22%ofcustomersexpectsame-dayresponses.TWITTER81%ofTwitterusersexpectsame-daycustomerserviceresponses.22%ofTwitterusersexpectresponseswithin2hours.30%ofTwitterusersexpectresponseswithin30minutes.81%22%30%80%MORETHAN1MILLIONPEOPLEviewtweetsaboutcustomerserviceeveryweek.ROUGHLYofcustomerservicetweetsarenegativeorcriticalinnature.SOCIALMEDIAHASPROVIDEDANINTIMATECONNECTIONAMONGALLCONSUMERS.88%88%OFCUSTOMERSareinuencedbyreadingreviewsALCUSTOMERSNOLONGERNTOCOMPANYMESSAGES;’RELISTENINGTOPEERSEAD.THEPOWERHASTEDFROMBRANDSTORCUSTOMERS.Onaverage,1SOCIALCUSTOMERwilltell42OTHERPEOPLEaboutacompany.HOWDOESTHISSHIFTINAUTHORITYAFFECTCUSTOMERSUPPORTFORBUSINESSES?UNFORTUNATELY,MANYORGANIZATIONSSTILLDONOTBELIEVEINTHEAUTHORITYOFTHESOCIALCUSTOMER.60%ofcompaniesdon'trespondtocustomersviasocialmedia,evenwhenaskeddirectquestions.7OFTHETOP20retailershaveevenerasedcustomerquestionsontheirFacebookpages.88%ofconsumersarelesslikelytobuyfromcompaniesthatignorecomplaintsandquestionsonsocialmedia.ONLY17%ofconsumerswhohadnegativeserviceexperiencesrecommendthosecompaniesinthefuture.88%17%BUTTHEY...
