From "Career Kick" - Advice for sharpening your job skills. This month: How to serve customers via social media.

1. Respond ASAP
A quick response is essential for dealing with a dissatisfied customer on social media. Download Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to your phone (they’re all free), and set them up for alerts any time somebody shares your post or direct messages you. You won’t have to be looking at your feeds all day.

Podcast

ASI's Vinnie Driscoll and Patrick Kennedy dig into the stats surrounding social customer service, ways you can implement systems into your business, and how to navigate this new frontier of the customer experience.

2. Manage the Conversation
If you have room in the budget, there are tools and applications you can put money behind. For example, Agorapulse and Sprout Social are software applications that allow you to scour the internet and look up keywords you’re interested in. Look for anything that mentions your brand name – people may not necessarily tag your page, but they’re still talking about you.

3. Get Sympathetic
Even though you’re not face to face or talking over the phone, you must maintain the fundamentals of selling. Always respond with empathy and try to figure out who you’re talking to on the other side of that screen. Understand their problem and do what you can to help fix it, no matter what the issue is.

4. Be Genuine
Strip down the anonymity of the internet and inject humanity into your customer service interactions. If your customer’s social profile shows his or her name, include it in your greeting. On the flip side, make sure to end your response with your name or initials to add a personal touch.

5. Remember You’re Being Watched
Social media customer service is a spectator sport. There’s an audience out there watching whatever your brand or company is doing online. Always respond in a positive manner. It’s not just about being proactive and gaining new clients in these interactions – it’s also about customer retention. Show you care enough to listen to the customers you already have.

6. Take It Offline
When Necessary Not every issue can be resolved via social media. Whether you need personal information from the customer or more than 280 characters to properly offer a solution, consider transferring the conversation from social media to email, the phone or even in person. The extra effort won’t go unnoticed.