The preliminary data is in for Socially Devoted Q3 and, for the first time, more than 3,000,000 questions were put to brands on Twitter. Clearly, the demand is there, and brands have an exceptional opportunity to engage their fans on social.
The number of closed walls demonstrates that too few brands have adopted the customer care mindset to social.
While opening their Facebook walls would be these brands’ first major step towards giving great customer care, it certainly wouldn’t be their last – because being Socially Devoted isn't something that you can just start doing overnight. Brands need to develop a response plan and set clear, measurable goals, while dedicating every level of their organization to achieving them. That last element requires the necessity for reporting on social customer care performance, in order to justify Spend allocated for social customer care.
It’s worth it. Socially Devoted brands on Facebook receive 3.5 times more Post Interactions than non-Socially Devoted brands. In short, your Fans care if you care.
In an effort to help brands become Socially Devoted, we’ve updated our essential guide, The Introduction to Social Customer Care. In addition to revealing the latest data on social customer service metrics that matter in your industry, it also features a case study of one of the best brands in social customer service – TUI.
TUI – Putting Care First
Any brand looking for a great example to follow should watch #Engage2014 speaker TUI Travel.
This quarter, brands in the Travel industry received over 18,500 questions on Facebook alone, and responded to 63% of them – not bad. But Travel brands actually saw a drop in average Question Response time of 22% from Q2, and 13% of brands in the vertical have a closed Facebook Wall.
The exception to this trend are social devotees TUI Travel, of course.
TUI has 220 brands operating globally, and more than 30 million customers. For them, social media is a huge part of making holiday experiences personal, effortless, and truly memorable, all while functioning as “the new word-of-mouth” – after all, 52% of people search for travel ideas on social and, while on holiday, 72% post photos to social networks.
Social gives TUI the opportunity to engage with customers throughout the entire journey – before, during, and even after the holiday. Across its brand network, TUI receives over 3000 questions each month. They answer 97% of them – up from just 57% before they became Socialbakers clients. TUI only started taking steps to change how they communicated with their customers on social after they saw their middling Question Response Rates and Question Response Times for each region.
Watch the video or read the whole story here .
Customers increasingly prefer to communicate with brands on social. When brands are effectively able to meet customers on their terms by providing excellent Social Customer Care, they will be able to promote their brand, steer the conversation, and gain customer loyalty.
Even though some brands like TUI have a head start in having already implemented a successful social customer care strategy, it’s never too late to start transforming your brand into a social business.
Hear more from TUI at #Engage2014 – and be sure to read the Guide here for your essential introduction to Social Customer Care.