Multilingual Customer Service On Social Media

By: Gurleen Singh Bhatia, Jason Fernando, and Lesley Ning

Changing Consumer Expectations

• 71% of customers aged 16-24 go online to resolve a problem

• 87% of customers say social interaction matters

• 83% of customers will abandon a purchase because of poor customer service

• Negative Word of Mouth spreads faster online

Source: J.D. Power and Associates, 2013 Social Media Benchmark Study

• People are increasingly turning to Social Media to voice frustrations with traditional customer service.

• This phenomenon is particularly noticeable among younger demographics ("Generation Y")

• Over 30% of people age 25 and under are using social media to complain about customer service

• We can reasonably expect that this shift will accelerate over time.

• Enhancing customer service through Social Media helps appeal to this growing consumer demand.

Source: YouGov plc. Survey

The Shift to Social Media

Source: Simply Measured, Twitter Customer Service Study - June 2013.

Top Brands on Twitter show Huge Potential for Growth

Speed Matters: Response Times

Source: Simply Measured, Twitter Customer Service Study - June 2013.

Source: Simply Measured, Twitter Customer Service Study - June 2013.

High Performance Brands Respond to the Majority of Social Media Inquiries

Multilingual Customer Service

English Case Studies

Nike: An example of great social media customer service

Source: Simply Measured, Twitter Customer Service Study - June 2013.

Customer Service Twitter Handles Send a Large Volume of Messages

@Nike Engages Users with a Marketing Approach

Personalized Engagement is Key

@NikeSupport engages users by providing valuable customer support

• @NikeSupport focuses solely on customer service

• Their responses to each user are personalized

• These public interactions build a positive brand identity

• Customer service is indirectly a powerful marketing tool

Protect your Brand by Turning Negatives into Positives

Royal Dutch Airlines: Exemplary Social Media Guidelines

• KLM aims to respond to every user question within 1 hour

• Every issue must be resolved within 24 hours

• KLM runs unique social media campaigns that focus on customer service:

• KLM Surprise: after monitoring the social media activity of a client, KLM would surprise them at the airport with a small gift

• Trip Planner: A social application that allows people to plan and book a trip with their friends without leaving the app

KLM YouTube Video Promotion

Multilingual Customer Service

French Case Studies

• Lottery companies face the unique challenge of keeping their customers happy about a product which offers an extremely low probability of success.

• Through their bilingual Twitter account, Loto Quebec provides their customers with timely information while also engaging in friendly conversation.

• Here, they respond to a customer that is waiting in line to buy a lottery ticket by wishing her "best of luck!" with her purchase.

Loto Québec: Boost Customer Satisfaction

• This kind of light interaction occurs frequently on Loto Quebec's Twitter feed, and helps foster positive relationships in an industry which is prone to disappointed customers.

• The previous conversation continues here, with @Popinard saying “It pays to be nice to Loto players”; a spin-off of a Loto-Québec slogan

• Loto-Québec responds with “Where have I heard that before ;)”

• Loto-Québec’s interaction plays with inside-jokes and builds relationships with its followers

Build Positive Relationships on Social Media

• The Montréal Transportation System proactively responds to frustrated commuters, answering questions in real-time in both English and French

• Engage with influencers through RTs and conversations

• Drive traffic toward related projects such as recruiting beta testers

• In this conversation, someone is asking STM about the service for a particular line. STM responds and directs the user to a Twitter Handle specific to the transit line in question

STM: Be Helpful and Informative

• Here STM tells its followers where a particular bus route ends, someone responds asking if they will be stuck at the final destination

• The user also creates a negative hashtag (the equivalent of #deadlocked)

• STM responds by directing the user to a relevant section of its website with specific transit routes available at the station

Share relevant resources to drive web traffic

Multilingual Customer Service

Chinese Case Studies

• WeChat has 30M registered users and 19M active users

• It is used by companies and organizations in various fields: Destination Marketing Organization’s (DMO’s), gaming, financial groups, retailers, real estate, education, E-commerce, etc.

• Great tool for cutting customer service costs

• A new effective way to attract and interact with targeted Chinese customers

Engage Chinese Customers on WeChat

- By scanning the QR code on Starbucks coffee sleeves, users get a chance to win coupons and become Starbucks members

- Users can download customized ‘Starbucks’ wake-up music for their phone alarms.

Starbucks China WeChat Campaign

Podinns Hotels

• Number of followers has increased from 0 to 550K in half an year

• Apps allow users to book hotel rooms and check availability on WeChat

• Provide services such as customized dinner menus

• WeChat facilitates the hotel experience

• Location services

• Book confirmations

• Look up popular local shopping destinations and restaurants

• Check the weather

• Contact hotel managers

Podinns Hotel’s WeChat apps allow users to:

• Create a Customer Service account on the right social platforms

• Listen to what customers are saying

• Develop a social media response guideline

• Be proactive

• Respond quickly and personalize messages

• Provide service in multiple languages

What Can You Do?

Questions?

Tweet us @LATMultilingual with the hashtag #LATSocial