公司社交化之弊

    如果说某些企业使用社交媒体后反而不那么爱跟顾客打交道了，那可真让人吃惊不小。事实上，社交媒体不但没有拉近企业和客户之间的距离，反而可能会让双方渐行渐远。观察了那些最不受客户待见的企业后，我发现，如果被问及用户支持情况如何，这类企业都会说：“我们当然提供客户支持。我们有在线社区和论坛、自助服务网站，还有能让用户互相学习的工具。”

    毫无疑问，“社交化”是企业实现对等用户参与的强大渠道，这一点已经得到了充分的展示。比如，公司博客、众包（crowd-sourced）论坛和在线社区，都是让充满热情的用户进行互动的绝佳平台，也经常是企业收集、了解用户对各种产品、服务评论的最快捷通道。对于某些产品或问题，甚至有可能直接获得答复。

    尽管这些“社交”工具对用户来说是价值非凡的财富，但对越来越多的企业而言，社交工具已经不再是用于客户支持的有力助手，它们似乎已经成为客户支持的全部，而其他与用户互动的关键节点则被企业严重忽视，甚至干脆弃而不用。当某位用户打算购买某个产品、或当他们有特定问题时——他们常常必须费尽周折地上网直接和公司联系，才能获得想要的答案。

    这些企业让客户去考虑欠妥的社交平台解决问题，其实是在冒险传达这样一种讯息：“你们要是有问题，那就自己聊吧。无论如何，别来烦我们就行。”而来自众包领域的一个委婉说法是，一些兴致勃勃的网友围绕着一个他们特别感兴趣的话题“蜂拥”而来。要知道，蜂拥这个说法是针对蜜蜂的。而且尽管“蜂拥”的做法能增加价值，蜜蜂们能产出蜂蜜，但在这个过程中你也可能会被蛰到。

    “社交”的含义远不止于Facebook、Twitter和同业社区，客户对社交这个概念抱有更高的期望。在我们生活中，如果有谁对社交不以为然，我们肯定难以接受。而且这个词儿充满了积极的情绪联想。如果说某人“非常擅于社交”，那绝对是赞美之辞。社交的方式包括短信、电话、邮件、博客、twitter、聊天，既有真实世界的聚会，也有虚拟社区的交流。

    企业也是如此。我相信，当一位潜在客户想买东西时，或者一位客户需要支持时，每个珍视用户的企业都应该为他们提供选择的余地，让他们能通过自己喜欢的沟通渠道、在他们愿意的时间，与企业交流。只有当企业能为客户提供灵活的选择，让他们获得“正确回复”而不仅仅是“有一个回复”而已时，才能建立起亲密的客户关系。只有在这种多维度、多渠道，以及毋庸置疑的社交化的世界中才能做成买卖，实现股东价值。

    毫无疑问，用户社区和自助式门户网站是客户体验的重要组成部分——然而当这些渠道不能提供正确答复时，企业亲自解答问题的过程就是实现差异化的最好契机。要从社区的海量信息中发现客户提出的疑难问题，难度有多大？可以运用哪些沟通渠道？操作人员了解自助式服务和社区互动的背景吗？最后，正确的回复是否再次回到自助式服务和社区应用中，以便帮助其他用户？

    从另一个角度来看，社交用户服务如果实施得法，会让企业轻而易举、低投入高产出地赢得用户的心。通过用户喜欢的沟通渠道，在正确的时机向正确的用户提供正确的答复，就能营造一种差异化的用户体验。能够了解用户特点，理解用户的沟通喜好，并能快速精确地提供购买或使用某种产品或服务所需的信息的公司，用户将会把它们牢记在心，视如珍宝。服务与销售之间的界限正在变得日益模糊，如果不能将每次与用户或潜在用户的互动视作一次增值的良机，股东最终也会蒙受损失。

    企业“社交化”的真谛是为顾客创造真正的价值，深入有效地提供他们所需要的信息，让顾客满意，把他们变成企业和品牌的长期忠实用户。

    汤姆•凯利是莫科西软件公司（Moxie Software）的总裁兼首席执行官。作为一位技术行业的资深人士，汤姆在多个领导岗位上拥有超过25年的管理经验。从初创的软件公司，到资产几十亿美元的行业巨擘，他在许多高层管理职位上都以具有强大的领导力著称，这些职位涉及业务发展、销售、财务和运营。

    译者：清远

    Saying that social is being used to make some companies less social sounds shocking. But in reality, rather than bringing companies and customers closer together, it could be forcing them further apart. When I look at the companies who are the least loved by their customers, they're almost always the ones that, if you ask them about customer support, respond, "Sure, we have that covered...through our online communities and forums, self-services sites, and other tools where customers can learn from each other."

    "Social" has demonstrated beyond all doubt that it's a powerful channel for companies to enable peer-to-peer customer engagement. Company blogs, crowd-sourced forums, and online communities, for example, are great at connecting enthusiastic users with each other, and often are the quickest way to gather and contribute reviews and opinions about a product or service. For certain products or questions, you might even get answers.

    While these "social" tools are great assets for customers, the sad truth is that for a growing list of companies, social tools are no longer an adjunct to their customer support efforts; it has become the whole ball game, and other critical interaction points with customers are being severely neglected or abandoned. When customers are ready to purchase or have a specific question – they are often required to jump through hoops to connect directly with the company to get the right answer.

    The message companies risk communicating by directing customers to poorly thought-out social solutions is, "Hey, if you have a problem, go talk to each other. But whatever you do, don't bother us." The euphemism from the crowd-sourcing world is that interested individuals "swarm" around a topic of particular interest. But swarms, though, are for bees. And while swarming can add value and bees produce honey, you can also get stung.

    "Social" goes beyond Facebook, Twitter and peer communities, and customers expect more than that. We have a low tolerance for cavalier attitudes toward social in other parts of our lives, and the very word is replete with positive emotional associations. Describing someone as "a very social person" is a great compliment. Social is texting and talking, letters and blogs, tweeting and chatting, and gathering in person as well as in a virtual community or world.

    It's the same with companies. I believe that when a prospect wants to buy something or a customer needs support, every company that values its customers needs to offer the option for customers to communicate through their preferred communication channel at the time of their choosing. Customer intimacy can only be created when companies provide flexible options for customers to get "the right answer" as opposed to just "an answer." Business is conducted and shareholder value is created in a multi-dimensional, multi-channel, and yes, in social world.

    There is no question that customer communities and self-service portals are an important part of the experience – but when the right answer is not available, the escalation into the company is the opportunity for a company to differentiate itself. How easy is it to escalate out of the community? Which communication channels are available? Is the agent provided with the context of the self-service and community interaction? And ultimately is the right answer sourced back into the self-service and community apps to help other customers?

    Here's another way of looking at it: social customer service done properly gives your company an easy, cost-effective way to be a hero. Providing the right answers to the right people at the right time using the channel of their choice offers a differentiated customer experience. Customers will remember and value companies that know who they are, understand how they want to communicate, and can quickly and precisely provide the information needed to buy or use a product or service. The lines between service and sales continue to blur, and failing to treat every customer or prospect interaction as a value add opportunity will be, in the end, a shareholder value loss.

    This is what social really needs to be: a method of creating real value for customers, connecting them deeply and efficiently with the information they need to become – and then stay – satisfied, long-term customers of the companies and brands that matter to them.

    Tom Kelly is the President and CEO of Moxie Software Inc. Tom is a veteran of the technology industry, with more than 25 years of experience working in numerous executive leadership roles. From software start-ups to billion-dollar technology companies, he has an established reputation of leadership in a wide range of executive management roles including strategic business development, sales, finance and operations.