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A New Guide on the Business Case for Social Customer Service Released by immediate future

By Jayashree Adkoli
TMCnet Contributor

A recent study, the “Social Media Customer Service Report,” conducted by TNS (News - Alert) and presented by Sitel indicated that social media is changing the landscape of customer service. Many young people are turning to social media sites to either solve problem, or search for information, or to register complaints. Consequently, the importance of social customer service has increased.

In this regard, immediate future -- a social media agency -- recently released a new guide to help the customer service industry assess the business case for social customer service.

As a consultancy facilitating clients to take a strategic view of how social media can add value to their business, immediate future rolled-out the guide that will help in determining the investment required and the benefits that can be expected while deploying social customer service solutions and strategies.

Adam Lewis, managing consultant at immediate future, said in a statement, "There's often a fear that social will open up Pandora's (News - Alert) Box for customer service teams -- an unquantifiable wave of hard-to-handle customer interactions…This guide provides a methodical way to assess the business case before jumping in. It will help avoid any hidden costs and identify benefits that matter most to a business."

According to immediate future, the new guide provides practical advice to the customer service industry. These advices help businesses to: calculate the commercial returns; avoid any hidden social media costs; predict exposure to customer interactions in social media; work out how much resource is required; and understand the skills required by the working team.

Lawrence Fenley, managing director for UK and Ireland, Sitel, said in a statement, “Social media is dramatically altering the customer service landscape. With easy access to real-time information, a new generation of ‘always-on’ consumers is more empowered and demanding than ever. This trend is on the rise as social media proliferates, both online and on mobile, across all age groups and demographics.”

Fenley added, “To build trust and brand loyalty in this rapidly changing environment, companies must develop a social media customer service strategy that is responsive, proactive and engaging in order to address customers’ needs.”

As a social media agency, immediate future is an official social media trainer for the Institute of Direct Marketing (Diploma and Certificate) and Chartered Institute of Marketing.