Nothing that we can remember has been more of a game changer in the area of customer service than social media. The traditional message “This call may being recorded for quality assurance purposes” might as well now be “This call, email, or Facebook post may be shared with the whole world to see via social media”
With that, we will now share what we believe are three important customer service do’s and don’ts for small businesses servicing the pet industry in this age of social media. All are predicated on one basic truth – that any interaction with your customer, positive or negative, could be shared with a much larger audience and have a great impact on your business. Let’s shoot for a positive one! Here we go:
#1 – DO respond to customer emails as quickly as possible! Why? Because if a pet parent has beef with you, much better to resolve it in a private email chain than for the customer to move the conversation onto Twitter or Facebook for the whole world to see. So how quickly is quickly? A recent study showed that customers expect a response to emails within one hour, yet the average company takes 12 hours to respond. Trust us, we understand how hard it is for a busy company taking care of clients all day to respond to emails within one hour. It may seem like an impossible task. But consider the alternative. If a customer is unhappy, and 4, 5, 6 hours go by and they don’t hear anything, they may think, “I have an idea – I’ll post my message on their Facebook page! That will get their attention!” There are plenty of customers well schooled in this technique, so please – even if you have to hire someone to do it – respond to customer emails as quickly as you possibly can.
#2 – DON’T ever ever ever – no matter how mad you get – engage in a public debate with a disgruntled customer. Let’s face it – even the best run pet businesses occasionally get unhappy customers. It’s just the nature of the game. So if a pet owner happens to post a not so positive message on your Facebook page, take a deep breath and let out all that anger out *before* you start typing. I repeat, before you start typing! (How to de-stress? Here’s a few apps that could help) Then, once you’re feeling more calm, compose a response in the most professional way possible, expressing sympathy for the way they are feeling. The goal here is not to win the argument. The goal is to show your customer (and other potential customers who might be reading the thread) how professional and understanding you are. This is an opportunity to not only retain a customer, but also a chance to win new customers!
#3 – DO seize opportunities to go over the top with customer service as way to foster goodwill and promote your pet brand. If a customer has an issue, get creative and show them how much you care … a handwritten note, an Amazon gift card, a special treat delivered to their doorstep. Consider it part of your marketing budget. Stories abound about companies who turned a customer service issue into a PR home run. Obviously, the bank account isn’t endless, so you can’t do this with every customer. But if you pick your spots, you’ll be surprised how much mileage you can get from it. Here’s the great thing about social media – customers post when they are really happy about something! And they share it. And their friends share it. And their friends’ friends share it. And this is never more true in the pet industry where people’s passion for their pets are sky high. If you make their furry family happy, they will want to tell the world.
So those are, in a nutshell, three important things to remember when it comes to delivering great pet industry customer service in this age of social media amplification. Have we missed any? Let us know! Do you have a great example of over the top customer service you delivered to your pet parents? Drop us a line, we’d love to hear the story!
