To go to one extreme, Facebook could be all the contact center you need in order to interact with customers, existing and potential and to launch campaigns. However, there are drawbacks in that you do not have phone and other facilities you find in contact center software. The best thing, in the circumstances prevailing today, is to get social media contact center software or, in other words, omnichannel contact center software with Facebook integration.
Why Facebook?
Facebook is like an open meeting ground where you can express your thoughts, upload pictures and movies, tag people and activities, share thoughts, find and connect with people, know what people are thinking and even buy and sell products besides using it as a sounding board. Facebook also permits you to promote yourself and your products. It is no wonder that Facebook claims to have over 2.5 billion monthly active users. 69% of adults in the US have used Facebook. 15% of Facebook users use the app to shop and Facebook Marketplace has over 800 million users. What is more to the point is that when you state an opinion or interact with a customer, such interactions and opinions can be viewed by others, reflecting well or negatively.
50% of Facebook users list their top interests so, if you wish to find out the pulse of the people, Facebook is your go to platform instead of engaging in an expensive, time-consuming survey.
Nielson’s Facebook Messaging survey finds that 53% of people are likely to shop with a business to which they can send a direct message and expect timely response. This happens on Facebook.
In short, if you want to be customer-centric and give them a happy experience then go to where they are to be found, which is Facebook, most of the time. If they are there, it is likely they will also be using WhatsApp and Instagram, both part of the Facebook family.
Customer experience
Your contact center software does have a phone number customers can dial. However, it usually goes into the IVR, a frustrating experience. It is no wonder the customer would rather voice his feeling on Facebook. If you are smart and use social media contact center software with Facebook integration then you can receive an alert about any such issue and attend to it promptly, delivering a happy customer experience. Customer expresses satisfaction. The entire transaction is there. It can be kept private. You can keep it public in which case it will reinforce your image. Plus, all such transactions go into your CRM. Facebook too has its CRM that lets you keep tabs on Messenger inbox, on your posts and replies to comments as well as Instagram interactions. These can be piped to your CRM. Relevant messages can be tagged to specific persons on your team for action. In short, with Facebook integration into contact center software you have a bidirectional CRM: you learn about people and people learn about you.
Know your customer
What happens when you use the contact center software for outbound campaigns is that you may not be fully aware of the target’s persona. Now get the social media contact center software that has Facebook integration. You could find people on Facebook, know about them, see profile photo and check their location. How does this help you? You gain insights into profiles and preferences. In turn, you can use this to craft more personalized messages or reach out directly to such targets through Facebook. You can label such contacts and mark them as potential customers.
An existing customer may use Facebook to voice a complaint. Look at their profile and you can gain an insight into their type of personality and accordingly use the right personalized approach leading to satisfaction. Egos matter as much as actual issues. Likewise, they may be seeking opinions or recommendations about your company or products. You can jump right in and address them.
Prospective customers
In the same way, prospective customers and existing ones can find you on Facebook, know about you and decide to come closer or move away. Should they decide to get in touch they may do so through Facebook or land on your website where they can interact with a chatbot or send you mail. Alternatively, you can configure Facebook through your social media contact center software to enable the response assistant to send out specific messages.
With integrated Facebook connect through a unified dashboard in the contact center software you can easily stay abreast with all such activities. Besides, it becomes easy to download possible leads through Facebook and respond promptly.
Think of your agents. If they have to, and must, use Facebook, it is done better when Facebook is integrated and accessible through an internal dashboard. It saves time and effort and streamlines interactions. You will find they will enjoy their work and improve productivity.
Bottom line
If you do not have Facebook integration you can get in touch with software vendors who will be happy to integrate it into your contact center software.
