Twitter seems to be in a funk. Shares of the microblogging site have dropped 67% over the past year. User growth has slowed, stagnating in Q4 of 2015. Righting “a sinking ship” (as the New York Times calls it) is proceeding in earnest, however.
Since Twitter’s inception, the site has not only been a way for users to ruminate and muse, but also a way to air their grievances. Some lob their praises or insults at politicians, athletes, and the occasional Kardashian. Many users choose to address companies directly – finding it empowering to say, “Hey, I love you!” or “Hey, you’re not meeting my expectations” (salty language omitted). And now, more than ever, companies are able to listen.
Today, more than 80% of social media customer service requests happen on Twitter. Between 2013 and 2015, Twitter has seen a 2.5X increase in the number of tweets directed to B2C companies. A cost per resolution on Twitter is 1/6 of that compared to call centers. And with Twitter’s new customer service features, businesses can add a “send a private message” button to their tweets and can ask for direct feedback after a customer service interaction. In addition, companies may need a more quantifiable way to measure the effectiveness of their customer service, so Twitter is allowing them to survey customers through standard NPS and CSAT. Ultimately, Twitter hopes that “@” will become the new “1-800”.
Enter Apple (and others).
The technology company recently implemented a new support account on Twitter. As of this writing, Apple Support has over 178,000 followers and has tweeted over 6,600 times – all since launching last Thursday. Apple is charging into the field with other pioneering companies that provide customer service via Twitter. Retailers, banks, airlines, hotels, and others are engaging customers and resolving issues in 140 characters or less. And while Apple is certainly not the first to implement direct customer service support on Twitter, its vocal entry into the market, along with the company’s new customer service features, is indicative of a larger potential pivot of the social media giant.
Related CEB Customer Contact Resources:
Leveraging Social Media for Customer Service (Upcoming webinar)