Social Media – The Customer Service Tool For Millennials?

Cat Storey

customer_service

“In my day we didn’t need an app to remind us.” “Back in my day you’d just ring someone.”

They both sound like something you’d hear from your grandparents, however they are also comments heard at a conference on ways to improve customer service for millennials. During which there was more discussion on call abandonment rates than response times on Twitter.

There was a big emphasis on instant chat tools (which are fantastic, I use them often myself). However businesses seemed more open to investing money in trialling these tools without first trying social media, and when four in five millennials prefer to use social media over web, phone or online chat, this surprised me.

More and more in my job as a Community Manager and also in my personal life, I see people use social media as their first point of contact with businesses. For many its second nature to tweet the local council and quiz them on road works, to tweet train companies about delays to their journey, to send Facebook messages to hotels enquiring about check-in times, even just a quick tweet to find out a business’ telephone number. Many millennials live fast paced lives where they want information (almost) instantaneously and at their own convenience. Because of this social media is favourable as it delivers information to their fingertips ready to digest in their own time.

This “back in my day” thinking can be damaging to businesses. We don’t live in the same kind of society as “back in the day”, we live in a 24/7 society where millennials would rather go to the dentist than call a customer service line.

If you think millennials are hard to communicate with now just give it another 10 years – my younger siblings don’t ring their friends and family, they tweet, text or Google Hangout. A telephone conversation is almost an alien concept! I wonder how they will choose to communicate with businesses when they come to the age of paying bills, buying products or booking holidays?

@Cat_Storey8, Social Media Community Manager for The Co-operative Group.

3 thoughts on “Social Media – The Customer Service Tool For Millennials?”

  2. Live Chat Outsource May 24, 2017 / 12:39 pm

    Social media and customer service are separate things but the fact that Social Media is the important part to improve customer service. I like the sentence you wrought “In my day we didn’t need an app to remind us.” “Back in my day you’d just ring someone.” And exactly we live in a 24/7 society where millennials would rather go to the dentist than call a customer service line. Appreciate your post.

  3. Adam Skinner June 15, 2017 / 9:56 am

    for the Millennials social media is one of great online tool.

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