Chats are one of the most preferred channels for users to get in touch with brands. Social media channels have also become the norm for brands to consume brand content as well as engage with them. According to Statista, there were 5.44 billion internet users worldwide as of April 2024, which amounted to 67.1 percent of the global population. Of this total, 5.07 billion, or 62.6 percent of the world’s population, were social media users. This shows the growing importance of live chats as well as social media channels.
These 2 have become very important for brands to pay attention to, to ensure the highest levels of customer satisfaction. In this article, we will explore how brands have integrated social media and chat channels to provide customers with a seamless customer experience resulting in the highest levels of customer satisfaction.
What are Chatbots
Chatbots are AI-powered programs designed to interact with queries in a human-like manner. These are employed when brands want to furnish appropriate responses to customer queries without having the need to assign a support agent to the task.
Most websites nowadays have a self-help chat option where customers can speak to a chatbot to get simple answers to their queries. Chatbots have become indispensable tools for brand who take customer engagement seriously. They are a proven method that enables brands to streamline their support operations. Chatbots can work round the clock providing an avenue for instant responses to customer queries. As a result, they help improve customer satisfaction while reducing the burden on human agents
Benefits of Integrating Chat Channels with Social Media Customer Care
We have already seen the important role that chatbots play in the realm of customer experience management. From providing personalized customer i4nteractions, ensuring prompt resolution of issues, and consolidating valuable customer insights, Chatbots have become an integral part of most CXM frameworks.
With the dawn of the internet and social media, customers have turned to social media channels like X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Linkedin, and Facebook to resolve their queries. This has added additional pressure for brands to perfect their response management framework on these platforms. With a proven track record of success, most brands have realized that having a chatbot set up for customer interactions on social media channels can further aid in improving customer interactions.
Customer Preference
Customers’ may not want to go the lengths to find a support number/ email on brands’ websites. DMs are a straightforward way for customers to reach brands. This has increased the number of conversations on DMs for brands increasing brands’ requirement for response capabilities. Chatbots can help brands out by handling these conversations.
Proactive Customer Engagement
Chatbots are available round the clock, ensuring an appropriate response is furnished to customers as soon as they reach out to the brand. Additionally, automations based on keywords and certain phrases can be customized to answer customer queries appropriately. This proactive approach helpsin addressing potential queries before they get escalated and cause brand crises.
Personalized Customer Experience
According to Salesforce, 76% of consumers expect companies to understand their needs and expectations, brands can take advantage of chatbots’ ability to access customer data and deliver a customer interaction that is highly personalized. Additionally,
Efficient Issue Resolution
Chatbots are any growing brand’s best ally. As the brand grows, the number of customer interactions is guaranteed to grow exponentially. Employing chatbots to engage with customer queries can result in efficient issue resolution. As the number of queries grows, there is no pressure on the brand to employ more response agents. A chatbot can respond to multiple queries simultaneously providing quick and efficient solutions to common issues.
Multimedia Interaction
Most customer interactions require multimedia interactions. For example, a customer may ask for a refund for a damaged product, for this, the support staff me ask for video/image proof. Chatbots can handle these interactions seamlessly. Additionally, a customer inquiring about product usage instructions can be forwarded a ‘how to’ video to instruct them on how to use the product. The chatbot’s ability to handle multimedia interactions makes the need for human intervention very low ensuring seamless customer interactions.
Real-time Feedback Collection
Chatbots facilitate the collection of real time customer interaction data. Immediate feedback analysis enables brands to be up to date with the latest customer interactions, enabling them to identify areas of improvement and ensure highest levels of customer satisfaction. Real time feedback collection is crucial in maintaining highest levels of service standard, additionally enabling continuous improvement.
Also, read How to build a robust Customer Experience Management (CXM) process.
Integrated Customer Profiles
Brands and customers alike may have an active presence on multiple social media channels. When customers reach out to brands on various channels, chatbots, thanks to their integrated customer profiling can consolidate customer data from various channels. This comprehensive view enables more personalized and appropriate responses to be furnished to customers. Unified customer interactions ensure the highest levels of consistency across touchpoints, improving overall levels of customer experience.
Conclusion
The benefits of integrating chatbots with social media platforms is quite apparent. From efficient issue resolution to multimedia interactions, the benefits go on and on. Most importantly, it enables brands to deliver a seamless experience for their customers. By leveraging these benefits, brands can enhance their omnichannel customer experience management (CXM), leading to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty. With the ever evolving digital landscape, integrating social media and chatbots wil become vital to delivering exceptional customer experiences.
