Renee Warren

By now it’s common knowledge that the internet has changed everything when it comes to doing business. Customer Service especially has had to adapt to new customer expectations. Many companies offer ways to give feedback through their websites and, as a result, customers expect problems to be addressed and resolved quickly. There was a time when a company might expect to have a few weeks to deal with a customer complaint or inquiry, now a resolution is expected within 24 hours, if not sooner.

Thanks to the popularity of sites like Facebook and Twitter, companies can now communicate with potential and existing customers in real-time. Many companies have dedicated staff to speak on their behalf, but some might be reluctant to allow employees to speak on their behalf. This reluctance can hurt not only customer relations, but also sales and profit. According to Econsultancy’s 2010 Social Media and Online PR Report:

• 40% of companies polled said they had “experimented with social media but have not done much” and just over a third report they’ve done an “average amount.”
• 45% of those same companies admitted to not having any internal policies or guidance for the use of social media. When companies were asked what was holding them back from using social media sites more often, they reported that they were having problems integrating the use of social media sites with other areas of their business.
• At the same time, however, 83% of companies expect their social media spending to increase in the next year. The question now becomes…

How can companies struggling to incorporate social media with their business make it work?

The answer is simple: empower your employees. In any business, Customer Service representatives have their fingers on the pulse. As calls, emails and letters pour in, these employees are on the front lines fielding complaints and inquiries and, more often than not, being the sole contact most customers have with a company. Most companies have already accepted that their service representatives speak on their behalf more often than anyone in management and so most of these employees are well versed on company policy. Within that group, a manager can hand-pick a team to work as Social Networking Ambassadors by rounding out and fine-tuning their knowledge of company policy. Those ambassadors can then be given access to company profiles on sites such as Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace and others to spread the word about upcoming events, commonly asked service related questions and corporate sponsored community outreach projects. By empowering Customer Service representatives, companies can not only address some issues before they become a problem, but it also makes the company itself seem more human and friendly to customers and clients.

This change may be difficult for some companies to embrace. Many executive teams are reluctant to hand over the reins of corporate communication, and this may be the largest hurdle. But the truth is, once they learn to empower their own employees, those people will become more involved with their work and will appreciate the fact that executives are recognizing the specialized treatment Customer Service Representatives can bring to the table. Empowering employees makes the company stronger, not weaker, Employees who feel they contribute in a more noticeable way have a greater investment in the company and that, in turn, shines through to customers.

Do you know of any small to large size companies empowering their employees to leverage social media?