About two months ago I saw Dave Kerpen, co-founder and Chairman of Likeable Media, speak at GrowCo New Orleans. His presentation, 7 Simple Social Media Concepts to Drive Results was interesting and validating for me. What Kerpen addressed in his presentation was a lot of the things we address in our presentations, client meetings and philosophy; things like the importance of authenticity in Social Media and the importance of responding, not just to one person with a high Klout score, but to everyone. Honestly, his presentation made me feel good about what FSC does and it confirmed my belief that what we preach and practice are both the right way to go about Social Media management.
One thing I took away from his presentation, however, was an acronym he used for customer service: LAST. Listen. Ask. Solve. Thank. It’s so simple and so easy, and yet why isn’t it being implemented by businesses world-wide? I thought a lot about LAST as I left his presentation that day but, honestly, forgot about it shortly thereafter. Yesterday, I found the piece of paper I scribbled that acronym on and, following the recent, epic and amazingly public meltdown from Amy’s Baking Company Bakery Boutique & Bistro in Scottsdale, Arizona, I found myself thinking about LAST again.
Since not everyone will be fortunate enough to see Dave speak, I thought it might be nice to lay out what he explained as four simple ways to better your social media presence and customer service. Of course, I added a little touch of FSC, but the acronym itself comes from Dave.
Listen.
We say it all the time: somewhere online someone is talking about you and it’s important that you listen to what what people are saying about your brand. If you’re not listening to what people are saying about you, it’s important to know that your competitors might be, and they might be swooping in to save the day when your customer isn’t satisfied. At FSC we know that listening to every conversation online can be a daunting task so we recommend using a couple of quick, free and easy tools like Google Alerts, Topsy and Twitter Search. For brands with bigger budgets, monitoring tools like Radian 6 offer more robust results. Remember, you can’t offer a solution if you’re not listening for the problem.
Ask.
Once you’ve started listening to the conversations, ask what you can do to be better. Ask for feedback from your customers, ask how you can make their experience, relationship and connection to your brand and your products better. The only way to get an answer is to ask the question.
Solve.
To me, this is the most important of all the customer service steps. You can’t get to the solving, though, without first Listening and Asking. If you’ve stumbled upon a conversation or comment that doesn’t shine the most positive light on your brand, solve the problem. When someone complains on Social Media, the majority of the time they will appreciate you responding to them and solving the situation. And a lot of the time, they’ll go back and publicly change their comment from negative to positive. If I have a bad experience with one of your waitstaff, I just want to know that you addressed it. If I ordered a box of macaroons from you and they came broken and crumbled, I just want you to know that and…maybe send me a new box. Solving a small issue immediately can be the difference between a one-time customer and a life-long brand loyal. In the wise words of Vanilla Ice, “If there was a problem, yo, I’ll solve it.”
Thank.
The last, but not least, step is remembering to thank those who support your brand. Thank people who provide feedback – good and bad. No one likes the ungrateful D-Bag so don’t be that way with your brand. Whether you’re receiving an award or a positive comment, always thank those who provide praise and constructive feedback.
So, there you have it. Remember that being LAST isn’t always a bad thing and implementing these four easy things will help you to see a boost in your online presence.