What do you do if your social media customer service is not responding to customers quickly enough?

Recognizing the availability and accessibility of your moderation team is very important, as well as understanding what you are listing as your "reachable" hours. If you are offering 24-hr support to a team that is only available 9-5, then you are choosing to cut yourself off at the knees. Be transparent on your social media pages and state that this page is ran by humans, and as such will not be accessible outside of working hours. However, once your team is back in the office the next day, they will promptly and efficiently assist you with your issue. Being mindful of the needs of your team and what they are capable of is a great sign of a leader who creates obtainable benchmarks and KPI's.

You can take several steps, and these include: 1. If your current team is overwhelmed with the number of inquiries on social media, consider hiring more staff to help manage the workload. 2. Chatbots can handle simple and repetitive customer inquiries, allowing your team to focus on more complex issues. 3. Establishing response time goals can help motivate your team to respond to customers promptly. This also shows customers that you take their inquiries seriously and are committed to providing efficient customer service. 4. Prioritizing urgent inquiries or customer complaints can help prevent a minor issue from escalating into a bigger problem. 5. Consider offering self-service options such as FAQs.

Before making any changes, it is essential to evaluate your present circumstances. Take into account the following inquiries: Is the delayed response attributable to a large number of inquiries and a limited number of staff handling the account? Are your employees familiar with your benchmarks and guidelines? Do they have adequate internet speed to ensure timely responses? Identifying the underlying issue is crucial as it will aid in determining the cause of the problem and enable immediate resolution.

I would 1. Change and or remove their administrator privileges to all your social media accounts, website, emails and admins account. They were working on and have access to. 2. Have all original work in a folder for your use and is backed-up so that it can't be deleted or held hostage. 3. Remove their access and fire them.

Automation to the Rescue Leverage tools to centralize across platforms and streamline. Leverage common automation features like Chatbots: AI chatbots can handle simple questions with pre-programmed answers, freeing up agents for more complex issues. Keyword Triggers: Set up keywords to automatically tag incoming messages as "Urgent" or "Product Complaint," allowing for faster routing. Canned Responses: Create templates for common queries, saving time while keeping responses consistent. Prioritization is key, so implement a clear triage system Urgency: Issues like service outages or negative press need immediate attention. Customer Value: Consider prioritizing inquiries from high-value clients or those with a purchase history.

Your team is an extension of your leadership. Giving them the tools they need and the authority to make decisions based on informed and documented guidelines is the easiest way to get the ball rolling. However, it cannot just be executed one time, but consistently every time. Once you give them the tools and the empowerment, trust that the job you hired them for is the job they are going to execute well on every time. Of course, that doesn't mean you can't be in the car as they drive through the chaos, just try not to take the wheel from them every time you feel they may hit a tree. Trust your team, and give them the space to enact the guidelines you gave them. When a team member feels respected, they feel more comfortable to do their job.

Giving your customers/clients your realistic and clear expectations also speaks highly to your company's transparency and willingness to be honest. It also speaks to the integrity of your company in respecting your fellow team members and staff. When you state that you are choosing to be available only at certain times, you are giving your customers a statement that you know your team's bandwidth and availability. As your company grows, your availability will grow, but until then, unless you are ready to offer after-hour positions, respect the team you have, and the work-life balance they are trying to have.