FUTURE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE the rise of the social customer

presents a practical step-by-step framework to help organisations prepare for the social future of customer service

aim of the report

to examine the role of social media in the rapidly-changing customer service environment

old customer service: ☹

“2011 was the year that 20th century customer service began to disappear”

Paul Greenberg, CRM at the Speed of Light

the rise of the social customer

"the institutions of modern developed societies, whether governments or corporations, are not prepared for this new social power. People are changing faster than companies"

David Kirkpatrick, Social Power and the Coming Corporate Revolution

the conversation prism

by Brian Solis & JESS3: theconversationprism.com

customer expectations increasing

social enterprise ☛ social customer

"customers are people, people you connect with, talk to, advocate for, listen to"

customer service can no longer operate as a silo away from other business units

Marc Benioff, CEO Salesforce

social requires executive support

to take root, the social enterprise will depend on an executive leadership that recognizes the long-term value of its core elements

the frontline needs data

CRM software is the hallmark of the social enterprise. Designed to record the collective knowledge of the enterprise, as well as ongoing interactions with customers

using the conversation prism

it is vital that companies fully understand where, why and how their customers are using social media before they upgrade their customer service operation

by Brian Solis & JESS3: theconversationprism.com

scale via advocacy and community

"no matter how many community managers a company hires, they’ll never be able to match the number of active customers... who generally know more about the company’s services and products"

Jeremiah Owyang, Altimeter Group

10 steps to the future

1. executive team

2. detailed audit

3. conversation prism

4. multi-channel strategy

5. training and guidelines

6. customer service link to business unit

7. identify CRM vendors

8. evaluate CRM vendors

9. consult with chosen CRM vendor

10. define metrics for CRM

conclusions

the social enterprise places the social customer at the very heart of its day-to-day operations

a social customer service model reduces costs and increases customer loyalty