Month: December 2023

What does providing outstanding customer support entail? Automated phone systems, chatbots, and help guides can lighten the load for your customer support teams, but they may not always address the needs of your customers, particularly if their issue is uncommon or time-sensitive.

Customers want to avoid the frustration of navigating through unrelated options or searching through FAQs that don’t address their specific issue. While chatbots and help centers can provide general information and assistance, there are times when only a human can handle more complicated support or inquiries. Modern consumers desire immediate contact with a human representative, and they frequently turn to social media customer service to make this happen.

According to the Sprout Social Index™, more than half (53%) of consumers report an increase in their social media usage over the past two years compared to the two years prior. Additionally, our research shows that 76% of consumers value and recognize when companies prioritize customer service.

Now is the time for brands to develop a strategy for social customer care (if you haven’t already). Unsure of where to begin?

In this article, we will delve into what consumers expect from companies and provide top social media customer service statistics to help teams foster better connections starting in 2024 and beyond.

Discover recent statistics on social media that showcase the evolving habits of consumers on these platforms.

• What methods do customers employ to seek assistance through social media platforms?
• How do customer care professionals use social media for support?
• How quickly do brands need to reply to customer service messages on social?
• What is the significance of customer service on social media platforms to consumers?
• Social media customer service statistics by network
• Enhance the experiences of customers by providing customer service through social media platforms.

How do customers use social media for support?

Brands have several options for delivering customer support, but social media is a crowd favorite. But how are customers using social channels to receive support from brands?

“About 70% of my customers reached out to me through social media channels, the other 30% by email,” said Zoila Streich, Co-Founder of Independent Fashion Bloggers and former fashion business owner. “Most questions are about product availability and payment methods, but a few are feedback about the products or the buying process.”

Customers also use social media to report service interruptions.

Or to point out issues with shipments and deliveries:

It’s disheartening to get negative feedback, but being respectful and helpful to each customer’s request will help in the long run. Our Index data shows over half of consumers say the most memorable brands on social media respond to customers.

Providing a top-notch product along with superior service and outstanding support will result in more favorable feedback from clients. For instance, a Telfar patron praised the brand for its speedy delivery.

Another customer thanked the brand for rectifying an issue through quality customer service:

How do customer care professionals use social media for support?

In the third-quarter Pulse Survey, we gathered responses from 336 customer service experts. The results indicate that handling a large number of inquiries is the primary obstacle for companies, therefore expanding your social media customer support approach is essential.

While it’s great to have this two-way communication with customers, a customer service-filled feed can distract from other campaigns and promotions your brand is trying to highlight. This is why some brands have dedicated social media accounts solely for customer care.

“Businesses use social media for a variety of purposes, including marketing, engaging with customers, interacting with influencers and more,” said Keenan Beavis, founder of Longhouse Media. “That’s why having a distinct social media account dedicated to customer support inquiries is so important. You don’t want your advertising, likes and shares to bury client demands and questions.”

Ensure you are ready for the varying levels of incoming customer support inquiries. When new products are introduced or promotions occur, there is an increase in sales, leading to a higher volume of incoming queries.

The volume of customers using our social media customer support fluctuates between 40% to 60%, depending on promotions,” said Yuvi Alpert, Founder, Creative Director and CEO of jewelry brand Noémie. “Because we drive people to our social media profiles through other channels, such as our newsletter, many of the questions we receive come through those platforms.”

Our data shows there are several strategies marketers plan to implement to scale social customer care. The top three include self-service tools/resources like chatbots and forums, social media management tools, and artificial intelligence (AI) and automation.

How fast should companies respond to customer service inquiries on social media platforms?

Being present on social media is great. But having a fast response rate sets apart the “best in class” brands from the “I’m unfollowing you because your customer service is horrible” brands.

How fast is fast enough? In many cases, it depends on the industry and the situation.

Yuvi Alpert has mentioned in the past that responding quickly during promotions is essential. He stated, “It’s important to respond to inquiries within a day. If we take longer, we notice a decline in customer engagement. Prompt replies lead to significant boosts in sales for the items we are promoting.”

As customers continue to flock to social for their support needs, it takes more effort to maintain speedy response times.

But what is the response time sweet spot according to customers? Our Index data shows 76% of consumers value how quickly a brand can respond to their needs. Nearly 70% expect a response within 24 hours or less.

In the past, it was considered acceptable to take a day or more to reply to a customer. However, nowadays, most consumers expect immediate access and satisfaction. This is why top companies in the area of social media customer service, such as MeUndies, aim for quicker response times. When the underwear company aimed to respond to all messages within a 60-minute timeframe, they required a different method than responding directly through social media platforms.

They turned to Sprout’s Smart Inbox to get an all-encompassing view of their Instagram direct messages, mentions and comments in one stream.

Now, be mindful that a fast response isn’t the primary goal—it’s to resolve customers’ issues. Unfortunately, some brands are quick to reply but slow to resolve. When that happens, unhappy customers will let you (and all their followers) know. Customers want more than timeliness when it comes to quality customer care–they want a solution.

What is the significance of customer service on social media platforms to consumers?

Along with timely responses, our Index data reveals 70% of consumers expect a company to provide personalized responses to customer service needs. Our data also found 63% of consumers agree their loyalty to a brand is significantly influenced by the quality of customer service they provide on social media.

With social media customer service statistics like these, there’s only one thing to do: Improve your social media A-game, so you don’t fall into the trenches of negative reviews.

Maintaining a reliable customer service experience fosters confidence and allegiance. Providing the customization that customers desire can motivate them to publicly express their appreciation (think: social validation).

For example, as a part of their Telfar Gifted promotion, Telfar shared with participants personalized AI-generated videos featuring designer Telfar Clemens and customers raved about it:

Social media has transformed the balance of power between brands and consumers. Only on social can people compare a brand’s support practices to its competitors in less than a few clicks. The public nature of social has influenced many brands to rethink customer care quality and the roster of standard support channels.

Responding to each message by hand, particularly when managing multiple social media profiles and dealing with thousands of customers, is not a feasible approach.

With a tool like Sprout Social, customer care teams can organize and filter incoming messages across platforms, triage responses to Cases and view critical customer information all in one place.

Begin your complimentary trial of Sprout.

Social media customer service statistics by network

Now that we’ve covered consumer behavior and their preferences, let’s cover some insightful social media customer service statistics by network.

Instagram customer service statistics

Instagram is one of the most popular social media channels for customer service. Our 2022 Sprout Social Index found that 35% of U.S. consumers use Instagram for customer service. This makes it the second most popular platform for customer service after Facebook. Instagram also has over one billion active users so it’s very likely your audience is on the platform, which means you’ll need to incorporate it into your social media customer care strategy.

Facebook customer service statistics

Around 74% of online adults say they feel more connected with a business when they can message the business directly on Messenger, Facebook’s direct messaging platform. Meta also found that another 66% of consumers agree that messaging is their preferred way of communicating to a business.

The main point is that if your target audience is using Facebook, it’s important for you to have a presence on the platform as well.

OLIPOP, a tonic brand, uses Facebook to offer direct customer support. “I’d estimate at least 50% of our customers will message us questions or comment directly on our posts across Facebook and Instagram,” Melanie Bedwell, eCommerce Manager for OLIPOP previously told us. “Ideally, we try to reply instantly, but if that’s not possible, then at least during the same day.”

Here are examples of their engagement with happy customers:

They also take advantage of chances to advertise their in-person shopping choices (and their feature to find a nearby location).

Threads customer service statistics

Time will reveal what customer care looks like on Threads as an emerging platform, but our Q4 2023 Pulse survey illustrates some interesting stats for brands to consider:

• 73% of consumers say they haven’t created a Threads account yet, compared to 27% of consumers who have created an account. Of the 27% of consumers who created a Threads account, roughly one-third use it weekly while another third use it daily.
• Three-quarters of consumers reported that they intend to utilize Threads on a daily or weekly basis.
• While younger generations are more likely to have a Threads account than older generations, usage differs slightly for Millennials and Gen Z. Twice as many Millennials as Gen Z consumers say they use Threads daily. However, twice as many Gen Z consumers compared to Millennials say they have an account but don’t use it.

In other words, the platform is still growing, but this means there’s an opportunity to appeal to the customers who use Threads.

TikTok customer service statistics

Has TikTok ever made you buy something? Welcome to the club.

Our Q4 survey shows TikTok, Facebook and Instagram are the top three platforms consumers expect to use to contact brands during the holiday customer service season. The survey also shows that 56% of Gen Z and 42% of Millennials use newer platforms like TikTok to communicate with brands.

You have the ability to integrate customer support within the TikTok platform by utilizing the comments section on videos. Respond to inquiries through video comments or establish a procedure for escalating and resolving customer issues on the platform.

X (formerly known as Twitter) customer service statistics

X is a popular channel people use to compliment or complain about a brand. Here’s a quick list of stats you should know:

• Approximately 64% of X users prefer to send a message to a dedicated support handle instead of calling a business.
• Over half (53%) of users find it helpful to see how brands answer questions or solve issues publicly.
• The most popular reasons for seeking out customer service on this platform include product defectiveness (37%), order issues (29%) and bad in-person experiences (29%), according to our data report, How to Use Twitter to Take Better Care of Your Customers.

Enhance the experiences of customers by providing customer service through social media platforms.

Your business profiles on social channels aren’t just about promoting products and services—they’re an essential place where today’s consumers seek out and expect quality customer support.

Ready to build relationships with your customers? Check out our interactive customer service data story to get started.

The post Social media customer service statistics to know in 2024 appeared first on Sprout Social.

In today’s digital era, providing top-notch customer service is crucial. With the rise of social media as a key channel for customer interaction, it’s important for businesses to stay informed about the latest trends and statistics in social media customer service. Here are some important statistics to keep in mind for 2024:

1. More than 80% of customers expect a response from a company on social media within 24 hours of posting a question. This expectation is likely to grow as customers become more accustomed to swift replies.

2. Approximately 70% of customers are willing to switch to a competitor if they don’t receive a response from a company within 24 hours, highlighting the need for prompt replies to customer inquiries.

3. Almost 70% of customers prefer to use social media for customer service rather than calling a hotline, due to the ease and speed of communication through social media.

4. Over 60% of customers are more inclined to recommend a company if their customer service issues are resolved quickly and effectively on social media, showing the importance of excellent customer service on these platforms.

5. About 50% of customers are more likely to make a purchase from a company if they have had a positive customer service experience on social media, underlining the significance of positive customer service interactions on these platforms.

6. More than 40% of customers are likely to leave negative reviews about a company if their customer service issues are not addressed properly on social media, stressing the need for outstanding customer service on these platforms to avoid negative feedback.

These statistics highlight the necessity of providing exceptional customer service on social media platforms to keep customers content and loyal. Businesses should ensure they are responding promptly and effectively to customer inquiries to maintain a positive relationship with their customers, which will help secure their satisfaction and loyalty in the future.

Source: sproutsocial.com

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