We know that responding to social media customer service requests isn’t always a walk in the park. There are days where you get positive feedback and build great relationships, and other days where it feels like everything’s working against you, but you keep going regardless!
To help make more bearable, those days where nothing seems to be going right, we’ve collated our favourite customer service and social media customer care quotes from some of the wise folk in social media and beyond.
Keep these inspirational quotes in mind to refocus your energy, provide fresh perspective, or even just find comfort when required!
1. Jay Baer
“Today, complainers & haters are the canaries in the coal mine. They are the early warning detection system for your business”
This first quote is a fantastic reminder that while you might not relish receiving complaints on social media, there’s always a silver lining! Complaints can help you to spot existing flaws or problems, as well as flag potential crises. With each negative comment, consider what your organisation can learn from this feedback to ensure that a) you don’t receive comments like that in future, and b) that the experience for your other customers is improved too!
This is a lesson that Hel Reynolds also discusses in our most recent webinar with the social media guru – How to Handle Negative Comments on Social Media. It’s definitely worth catching up on this half hour session if you haven’t already!
2. Maya Angelou
“People will forget what you said. They will forget what you did. But they will never forget how you made them feel”
This is a super important message to keep in mind and it‚Äôs something we’ve touched on in a number of our recent webinars. Whether it’s negativity or positivity, customers might not remember exactly what happened or what was said, but they’re left with a lasting feeling about your brand from engaging with you.
This is even more important on social media, where how you treat customers is visible to the rest of your audience and so you might actually be influencing the opinions of a much larger group of people. But evoking feeling over social media is no mean feat. You can’t rely on physical gestures and signals like body language, eye contact, or facial expressions. Instead what you say matters all the more so consider the following:
- Using more emotive language to convey empathy, concern, appreciation etc.
- Adding GIFs and emojis into your content as they can often express sentiment that words can’t capture so easily
- Being more human – no one wants to talk to a robot so make them feel like they’re building a relationship with a real person by using your name and talking naturally
3. Peter Drucker
“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said”
Unlike phone calls, communicating via text like social media or email can be much more difficult as you have less clues to better understand the situation. As we said before, there’s no body language, no pitch/speed/volume of voice, and no facial expressions to go on.
With that in mind, solving more complex questions or situations on social media can be tricky and that information has to be gathered in different ways. The first is that your social media customer service teams need to be quite perceptive and sensitive to subtleties, the second is that there’s no harm in asking more questions. As it’s harder to get a picture of the situation, simply asking the questions can avoid any confusion and ensure the result fully satisfies the customer!
4. Richard Branson
“The key is to set realistic customer expectations, and then not to just meet them, but to exceed them — preferably in unexpected and helpful ways”
This is an awesome goal to aim for and in delighting customers when they least expect it, you’re creating those memorable experiences where they feel valued and special. Exceeding expectations doesn’t have to cost the earth or take hours out of your day — it could be as simple as:
- Responding to queries faster than your service level agreement (SLA)
- Doing some of the work for customers like filling in a form or sending their query through to the right team instead of directing them to an email address
- Using the customer’s name and asking them how their day is going
- Accessing information on their previous interactions with your organisation so that you’re not starting the conversation from scratch
5. Simon Sinek
“Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first”
This is a crucial reminder about the power employee advocacy, particularly when it comes to social media. Generally speaking, the more involved and bought into social media your colleagues across your organisation are, the better your results will be.
For our readers that have been through the process of involving other departments or colleagues in social media customer service, you will know that this is often easier said than done. Simon Sinek’s quote can help us to think differently about inspiring colleagues on social media. Colleagues need to know why their activity on social media is so important and the impact that they’re having, as well as how to get involved in a way that suits the skills and experience of each colleague so that they can shine!
6. Neal Schaffer
“Remember during your interactions that social media was made for people, not businesses”
When you’re using social media at work, surrounded by your colleagues in an office, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that social media is primarily a tool for connecting people and ideas. While a more corporate tone of voice might be appropriate in certain circumstances, it’s not necessarily always the best option.
Consider how making your social media presence more human could improve your interactions and help you to develop real relationships with your audience, rather than just transactional exchanges. Rob Jefferson from Doncaster Council shares some excellent advice on developing the right tone of voice for your organisation that you can hear here!
7. Jeff Bullas
“Your competitors do not have a monopoly on good ideas”
We all know that as social media algorithms continue to change and competition is stronger, getting noticed on social media is harder than ever. While it’s easy to lament this reality, it just means your organisation needs to get more creative. One of the ways to stand out is in delivering exceptional, memorable, and shareable social media customer service.
As Jeff Bullas says, you still have the power and freedom to get creative with social media customer service so consider how you can step it up a notch. Organisations like Orkney Library and Innocent are great to follow for inspiration. They’re masters at taking everyday conversations and transforming them into viral content by adding humour, creativity and care!
For more ideas check out our blog post featuring 5 UK Brands Providing Exceptional Social Customer Service!
Those are the thought-provoking quotes that we’ve been loving but we want to hear from you! What quotes resonate with you and keep you motivated to deliver exceptional social media customer service? Let us know @SoCrowd!
