Twitter set to help businesses handle customer service
Twitter Inc. is launching new customer service features for business profiles, with Rogers Communications Inc. signing on as its Canadian launch partner.
Companies that use Twitter to provide customer service will now be able to add new information to their profiles to better communicate when and how service is provided. Profiles can display the hours the account is monitored by customer service representatives, plus companies can add a large direct message button to make it easier for customers to get in touch directly.
There is also a new look to the back-end system for businesses and when users search for companies on Twitter it will say “provides support” beneath the account right in the results, which helps point people to a customer service option as opposed to just a general company account.
“We’ve seen many Canadian brands manage customer service on Twitter in a similar fashion to how they’d manager customer service by phone or in-person with posted service hours, company reps signing their names to Tweets and more prominent placement for Twitter accounts on websites and blogs,” Rory Capern, Twitter Canada’s Toronto-based managing director, said in an interview. “These new features will help enhance that live customer service experience even more.”
In Canada, Rogers (@RogersHelps) is the launch partner for the new business tools, joining international partners Apple (@AppleSupport), Sprint (@SprintCare) and United Airlines (@United).
The company has already been using Twitter to provide customer service, with representatives monitoring the account 24 hours a day, but the new tools will allow more clarity in what kind of service is being provided online.
Rogers has already been using Facebook Messenger as a method for customers to contact them, even going so far as advertising the social media option in nationally televised commercials.
“This is part of our strategy to continue to enhance the customer’s experience, and one of those elements is online channels and self-service,” Deepak Khandelwal, Rogers’ chief customer officer, said in an interview.
“We want to be where customers are.”