Recently, a Tesla owner unable to find a spot at a local charging station tweeted about fellow consumers hogging spots and keeping their cars parked at the supercharger even after their cars had finished charging. CEO Elon Musk took the feedback seriously and personally responded within minutes, promising to take action.
Just six days later, Tesla announced the following policy on its official website:
“We designed the Supercharger network to enable a seamless, enjoyable road trip experience. Therefore, we understand that it can be frustrating to arrive at a station only to discover fully charged Tesla cars occupying all the spots. To create a better experience for all owners, we’re introducing a fleet-wide idle fee that aims to increase Supercharger availability.”
It’s not surprising that Tesla is Consumer Reports’ 2016 #1 auto brand ranked by owner satisfaction. As Richard Jhang, CIO, Hyper Growth Business at IBM Global Business Services declared, “Idea to execution in 6 days. Copy that.” Smart brands understand that Twitter is the place to be if they want to provide real-time customer care online, and customers love it because companies are held accountable on the public platform.
Respond Fast—Especially to Complaints
With social media’s 24×7 availability, any problem or unresolved customer service issue is broadcasted and discussed aggressively on social media, creating potential havoc for any organization (not to mention the ulcers given to customer service managers). Therefore, how quickly companies can collect and convert customer data into insights and act on it is critical—Twitter is a real-time network, and users want real-time responses. In fact, Search Engine Watch reported that 70% of surveyed Twitter users expect a response from the businesses they reach out to on Twitter, and they expect it fast—within an hour. Jet Blue, who sometimes responds to customers within 10 minutes of a complaint being posted, is a good example.
Rapid response, however, is only part of the battle. Customers have little tolerance for generic answers and expect a company to quickly understand and resolve their specific issue. When consumers don’t get an answer from a company on Twitter, 81% don’t recommend that company to their friends.
According to Sprout Social, in Q1 2016 the average number of social messages requiring a response grew 18% year over year. The rise in social customer services means more businesses will look to increase their customer service resources by automating simple customer requests (e.g. chatbots).
Real Time Data Enables Real-Time Action
Historically, surveys have been viewed as a tool for information gathering and data analysis (and they certainly are). But with real-time alert features, surveys can help capture dissatisfaction and stay on top of performance; you don’t have to wait for “later” to take decisive action. You can respond to a situation immediately based on a survey participant’s individual responses.
SoGoSurvey’s “Rules and Alerts” Feature
It’s always been important to address customer concerns, but gone are the days of disgruntled customers complaining to a few people. Upset customers complaining publicly on social media require an immediate response. SoGoSurvey’s “Rules and Alerts” feature allows you to set up rules based on certain criteria including when a survey response meets a condition. Improving customer service is one of the major reasons organizations conduct surveys, and real-time alerts are your opportunity to catch urgent situations instantaneously.
After the sale is made, the customer journey is just beginning. Organizations that can deliver real-time customer support will reap the benefits of increased loyalty, positive sentiment, and repeat business. Insight into key metrics and immediate access to customer and product information enables organizations to resolve problems quickly and deliver an exceptional customer experience. Catch unhappy customers before they churn and get more positive reviews by listening in real time.