Customer Service and Social Media - Exploding Myths and The Hype and Hope

Social media has received massive buzz over the last few years, and there's a belief, unsubstantiated by data and research, that social media is revolutionizing customer service and that social media will help companies improve the service they offer to clients and customers. The claims are insane, so we've set up this Q&A section to look at the claims, the realities, they hype and the hope.

 

Overview Questions On Using Social Media To Provide Customer Service

Will Social Media Revolutionize Customer Service, As Many "Experts" Suggest?
Over the last few years, social media advocates have been claiming that social media will revolutionize customer service. True? False?

How are companies trying to use social media platforms to improve customer service?
While it's difficult to show overall success combining social media and customer service (results), we do know how companies are trying to use social media to improve customer service.

Is there proven measurable benefit to using social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter for customer service?
In business we always like to know ahead of time whether there is strong evidence for a strategy before jumping in. Is there for Twitter and Facebook in terms of customer service?

Will my company lose business if we don't use social media for customer service?
The buzz of social media is so loud, that companies think they might lose business if they don't use it. True? Or not?

What Is Proactive Use of Social Media For Customer Service?
Proactive customer service using social media is one of the few ways social media actually can accomplish things that cannot be done in any other way. Find out how.

Will Social Media Customer Service Replace Other Forms of Delivery?
If customer service delivered via social media can't replace already existing channels, using social media simply becomes extra cost. It's an important question..

Things You Might Not Know About Social Media and Customer Service

How Does Facebook Make Money, and Why Should I Care
Before you decide to rely on Facebook for customer service (or anything) you need to understand their business model, and think about what is a rather controversial practice.

Does Social Media Increase Online Sales?
Here is the shocking answer. Now we have some data, and it doesn't look good. Check it out before you go whole hog on social media.

Barriers To Customer Service Improvement Through Social Media

Research has not validated that customer service quality has improved since the popularization of social media. In fact, most studies that ask customers about this find that year after year, customers are less dissatisfied. Why hasn't social media actually improved things?

What Does "Scale" Mean, and Why Is It Important to Understanding Social Media and Customer Service?
To understand why social media doesn't have the positive impact on customer service that many claim, you need to understand the concept of "scaling",

Should My Company Use Twitter For Customer Service?
Many businesses have jumped on to Twitter with an eye to using it as a customer service channel. Does that make sense?