3CLogic's Contact Center Blog

While most businesses have figured out social media as it relates to sales and marketing initiatives, many do not yet understand how to apply it to customer service. And when considering the fact that most service inquiries will be handled through social channels by 2020, businesses must find a way to effectively transfer the responsibility of these customer posts to the individuals best equipped to address them—representatives in the contact center.

As the Internet and mobile devices become faster and more efficient, the number of communication channels available to consumers seeking customer support continues to rapidly expand. What was once a purely telephony-based task has since expanded to alternative channels, including email, text, chat, video—and increasingly, social media. In fact, nearly one in three social media users prefers to reach out to a brand for customer service through a social channel compared to the phone. And by 2020, it is estimated that an astounding 90% of customer service inquiries will be handled through social channels. Touted for its convenience, speed, and ease-of-use, this relatively new channel appears to paving the way for the future of customer service.

The emergence of social media over the past decade has revolutionized the way businesses communicate and interact with their customers. And as enterprises have gradually discovered the general merits of a well-managed social media platform, as it relates to marketing and PR, many are attempting to tackle the broader challenge of applying it to customer service. In fact, 67% of contact center executives believe social media is a necessary customer service communication channel. Point in case, by the end of 2012 80% of companies planned to use social media for customer service initiatives. However, fast-forward to today, and the current number of customers seeking help through social media has dropped significantly (50% versus 40% in 2014), according to a recent American Express Survey.

According to Oracle, businesses following a multichannel customer care strategy achieve more than double (9.7 vs. 3.9%) year-over-year improvements in customer satisfaction, as opposed to those using only a single channel. While voice has always been the dominant mode of communication, with 98% utilization amongst businesses and the channel with the highest client satisfaction ratings across all generations, alternative means of communication are playing an increasingly important role within the customer service space.