There was a 15% increase in customer care enquiries via Twitter from March to June 2020 during the global coronavirus pandemic, with over 70% of millennial Twitter users saying they used social media to comment on the quality of a company’s customer service, according to a report from Twitter and customer experience management platform provider Sprinklr.
The report, entitled ‘From AM to DM: Twitter customer care in a 24/7 World’, concludes that a strong customer support strategy on Twitter is increasingly important for brands in every industry. It was based on an analysis of nearly half a billion Tweets from the past year and aimed to identify best practices for customer support via Twitter.
The report analyzed Tweets from brands in 11 different industries to identify the top performing brands practicing customer support on Twitter. To determine best practices, the analysis relied on a new measure for the quality of customer support on Twitter: The Sprinklr Care Score. This is a system for scoring and ranking brands based on seven weighted indicators of Twitter care performance, including response rate and volume of brand replies.
According to the report, the companies with high care scores demonstrate the following behaviors:
- Go beyond expectations
Top brands reply to 8 times more Tweets than typical brands on Twitter and receive 10x more mentions because customers know they will address their questions. - Respond quickly
Top brands respond 3 times faster than other brands on Twitter. Airlines are most likely to deliver a swift response. - Take ownership of mistakes
78% of retail brand handles that excel at customer support take ownership of customer problems in order to build trust. - Act human
Brands that excel at personalized customer support have 6 times more followers than brands who are still developing their care practice. - Use a separate handle for care
80% of financial services companies that excel at customer care offer a dedicated support account on Twitter. Brands that list hours in their Twitter bios have a Sprinklr Care Score that is nearly 50% higher than brands who don’t.
According to Joe Rice, Lead Product Solutions Sales Manager for Twitter, “Brands have the opportunity to connect directly with their customers, but there’s no singular answer for how brands should execute customer care on Twitter.”
“Millions of people turn to Twitter every day to talk about what’s happening and to interact with brands. Making these customers happier starts with making Twitter customer support a priority,” concluded Ragy Thomas, CEO & Founder of Sprinklr.
