Social media, the customer and the human touch: a cemented bond in 2012

Today many companies recognise that social media will be the first point of call for a customer complaint. So a dedicated team of customer service advisors responding quickly to social media comments is essential. EyeforTravel’s Ritesh Gupta explores the progress made last year

What would you count as your main objectives during a social media campaign? Coming across as trustworthy in online conversations, increasing the traffic to your websites or providing exceptionalcustomer service? It could be any or even all of them but today travel companies have certainly shown that they are better placed to integrate social media campaigns with business strategy and brand promise.

Specifically, it seems improving customer service via social media was one of the major stories of 2012.

The effort the travel industry as a whole has put in to succeed in this dynamic space is commendable. No one can ignore the fact social media fans or followers wanted travel companies to participate in a timely manner, be honest and didn’t want them to over-sell. This meant travel companies needed to identify and train the right people, and align their internal teams appropriately to manage communication effectively.

Scandinavian Airlines, in an interview earlier this year, mentioned that characteristics like enthusiasm, common sense, a can-do attitude and understanding of social media were basic essentials. American Airlines expanded on this them in an article about the importance – and difficulty – of hiring the right people (The human touch: hiring staff is a tactical business Dec 5, 2012). Increasingly though, companies seem more comfortable and confident about how to communicate and are willing to go beyond simply being consistent in all channels.

A fully fledged presence

Over the last few years there have been talks of allocating dedicated resources for social media. Even though some of the recommended initiatives sounded obvious, the danger of negative repercussions meant travel companies wanted to completely understand what they were getting into and be absolutely ready for any situation.

Some of the key initiatives taken this year by airlines: 

1.       In case of American Airlines considerable progress has been made in enhancing its social customer service programme; the airline says it knows customers have taken notice.

2.       As volume of incoming, actionable tweets continues to rise, airlines also added resources so they can listen and respond to as many customers as possible. As seen across the industry, airlines have been expanding social response timeframes to 18 -24 hours now. SWISS enhanced the scope of the customer services it provides via the Facebook and Twitter social media platforms. The airline says it is the first company in Switzerland to provide a specially-trained service centre team to deal with customers’ inquiries 24/7. The service is provided in five languages: English, German, French, Italian and Spanish and can be accessed via either Twitter (@SwissAirLines) or Facebook (facebook.com/FlySWISS).

3.       American Airlines says it has the ability to infuse its employees’ personalities into each response, and this has also become a hallmark of its social presence, one that will remain core to its efforts.

4.       Airlines are also now taking a great pride in being able to reach a global audience. American Airlines not only considers its own network, but also counts on the oneworld alliance partner airlines. These partners  help the airline in extending social reach.

Clarity is key

Travel companies are now quite vocal about their plans.

As Ken McCall, managing director for Europcar UK Group, says social media is a great tool for engaging in a two-way dialogue between brands and consumers. “We therefore believe that social media will play a key role in the customer service function, working alongside the one-to-one contact managed by our customer services department,” says McCall. “Our strategy has always been to provide interesting content for our followers as well as build brand awareness.”

In the current social media landscape, many consumers are using the channel as a way to air grievances about brands.

“While we always resolve customer complaints through our customer services department, we do understand that some consumers feel more comfortable raising a complaint via social media in the first instance,” he says. With this in mind Europcar has a dedicated team of customer service advisors responding quickly to social media comments and aiming to help achieve a satisfactory resolution for customers,” says McCall.

Building rapport

Whether it is Facebook or Twitter, companies like Europcar understand the importance of the correct tone of voice.

“This is particularly crucial when responding to customer complaints but also for building positive rapport with our customers,” says McCall.

The team at American Airlines highlights that there are many customer segments within your social fan base that you need to consider with content you develop.

According to the airline, it has a huge number of aviation fans in its social community and has learned from them over the years what they like most, as well as what they dislike. That’s helped the airline in reaching this very important group, not only with brand messaging, but also with photos, videos and other content that excites and motivates them to share within their social networks.

When it comes to engaging fans, there has to be a clear call to action. It is also essential that the content cannot be misinterpreted. In case of American Airlines, the goal for each piece of content is to be transparent in what the airline is saying and what it would like its communities to do in response, and the team has found continued success using this approach.

Social media has made it possible for any voice to be heard, including the voice of dissent.  So knowing that one can’t make everyone happy with every campaign is important. Social media response teams must be trained to handle negative criticism and respond to it appropriately.

All in all 2012 will be remembered as a year when the travel industry’s presence on social media became more meaningful, with human touch getting stronger than before to serve customers. 

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