Why social media channels are the new pool for business affairs in the post-COVID-19 era
Witnessing a surge in customer service amidst the pandemic, enterprises are now looking for alternate channels like WhatsApp and bots for customer engagement apart from voice and email.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the contact centres started moving towards remote solutions to actively engage with the customers. Witnessing a surge in customer service, enterprises are now looking for alternate channels like and bots for customer engagement apart from voice and email.
According to Statista, as of April 2020, about 3.81 billion people are active users of social media platforms globally, and they are paving a path for businesses to redirect their customer engagement strategy towards the most popular channels like WhatsApp, Instagram, , , and Google Play Store.
An omnichannel customer engagement platform can help integrate all these social channels along with the voice and email to offer a unified view of the customer, and help contact centre agents resolve all customer queries on the channels chosen by millennials.
Successful businesses operating in industries like education, healthcare, ecommerce/fashion, automotive, and others are using social media for customer engagement, and they are beginning to recognise the potential of a social contact centre.
Reshaping e-learning with WhatsApp and Instagram
Leading educational and e-learning platforms are leveraging WhatsApp and Instagram to streamline their digital engagement for the admission process. Moreover, they are also engaging with parents and students, establishing a business-consumer relationship in most effective ways.
Businesses can post important updates on Facebook and Instagram and engage with students actively by responding to the queries timely.
Students can post their queries in the comment sections on Instagram, have a live chat on WhatsApp, and mention the brand on any social media platform to interact with their mentors to get an instantaneous response.
Since the large audience is present on WhatsApp — the world’s most popular channel — sending PDFs of fee reminders, admit cards, and performance reports, among others, to the parents has become very easy.
Providing healthcare tips
In the post-COVID-19 era, the healthcare industry will witness a surge in customer service queries with patients looking for online consultations. The pandemic has given birth to a panicked situation where patients want the answers now. Thanks to digital channels, we have a rescue plan in store.
Healthcare providers can set up virtual consultations for their patients in this physically distant world. To establish a doctor-patient relationship, doctors can use WhatsApp video to provide the right assistance to the patients.
Check-up reminders can be sent to ensure that the patients do not miss their routine health check-ups. WhatsApp does not only help patients get an instant response to their health-related queries but also, allows them to schedule appointments with the doctor and retrieve their health reports.
Additionally, a self-service WhatsApp Chatbot can also allow the agents to assess their symptoms and seek help from doctors instantly.
Most of the first-level queries can be solved with agentless self-service bots, allowing contact centre agents to concentrate on critical queries that require urgency.
Elevating shopping experience for ecommerce
Quick replies are the key to amazing customer experience and customer satisfaction. According to Hubspot, Two-thirds (about 66 percent) of consumers report that the most frustrating aspect of getting customer service is waiting on hold.
This change in consumer’s expectations of round-the-clock customer service is compelling brands to invest in social media strategy.
Leading ecommerce brands use Instagram to launch their new products or services, and market about hot deals, and exciting discounts.
For instance, Brand A launches a fresh apparel collection for the summer, and posts about it on Instagram with creative ideas, and waits for customers to start engaging with this newly launched product. A customer, who likes the product, posts a comment about asking for the price of the product, and the customer service agents reply to the customer instantly.
Once the customer starts to engage with an agent, the agent can ask for a WhatsApp opt-in, and send the customer a brochure of related products based on their choice history on WhatsApp, providing an exceptional customer experience.
With one comment on Instagram, the brand sold a product and gained a customer for a lifetime by elevating their online shopping experience just by being present on customers’ most preferred channels.
Vehicle servicing made easy
Buying a car should be a delightful experience for the customer. Right from the model selection to test drive, and then finally buying the vehicle, customers expect to be in good hands.
When a customer raises a request for the brochure with car specifications over WhatsApp, the business, going the extra mile, can send the quotation comparison along with the brochure to delight the customer.
And no, the buying journey does not end with the payment, it only starts with it. The customers would like to raise requests for car servicing, and the brand can ensure quick customer service, and send an instant booking confirmation message to the customer on WhatsApp with the details of the serviceman who will attend the request.
For example, Brand B sends out timely reminders of car inspection to all its customers using WhatsApp, and also sends out exciting offers on car servicing to stand out in the market. It does not stop at it; it also provides an option of scheduling and cancelling the appointment, ensuring that the customers feel convenient doing business with the brand.
Edited by Suman Singh
(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)
