Will my company lose business if we don’t use social media for customer service?
There is no credible evidence or research to show that you will lose customers, or lose business due to a lack of social media customer service. None. What there is is some research using biased samples, that suggest that customers might like to have the option, but there are few customers who will refuse to do business with you, JUST because you are not on Twitter, or Facebook. Unless of course your service is poor, or your products and prices are out of line with the competition.
There is research that suggests that consumers SAY they will think less of companies that don’t provide customer service support via social media, but the problem with this is that there is no measurement of consumer behavior to support the survey results. Given the huge “say-do”gap; the inconsistencies between what consumers say they want and how they actually behave in the real world, we have a very strong illusion of social media importance.
One of the reasons it appears that social media channels are so important for customer service is that the big proponents (often people who make their livings in social media) are very loud, and very insistent, but there’s just no data to show they are right.
It may be that social media can help your business in other ways, such as marketing, but with respect to customer service, right now, there’s no danger in not using it.
Bottom Line: Provide great customer service regardless of channel and you will retain customers.
