Social customer service seems simple: help your customers when they reach out on social media. But while it’s easy to immediately grasp the value of this idea, implementation is an entirely different matter.

Way before you begin to formalize your practice around social customer service, it’s critical to have a firm grip on what goals you have for your program, how mature your current efforts are, and how they align with your organization’s business strategy. 

One way to get started is to zoom out to the macro level and think about your organization’s overall goals. You might be part of a high-growth organization, where business growth through customer referrals is critical; in contrast, you may be a highly competitive, well-defined industry where customer loyalty and perks make the difference. If you have a specific charter for how customer service fits with these overall goals, that’s another critical element to think about. How will social engagement change customer service for your company? 

As you take into account these high-level goals, think about what stories you’d like to be true about your social customer service practice. Imagine a happy customer. How will you produce these experiences? What commitments within the organization will you make in order to create great customer experiences? As you consider each candidate goal, think about how progress against that goal could be measured. 

With this context in mind, begin to document the goals you have for the next year at least. Answering these four questions will help you focus your goals:

1. What social presences will you monitor? 
2. Who will respond to social customer requests?
3. What public commitments do you plan to make? 
4. How will you monitor and report on your social practice? 

Once you have your goals for the next 1-3 years documented, it’s critical to make sure others within your organization are aligned. This way, when you later present a more detailed strategy for the implementation and operation of your social customer service program, you can refer back to the overarching goals you plan to achieve, and how they relate to corporate level objectives as well. 

For more insight on establishing transformative social customer service within your organization, refer to our e-book, 8 Steps to Transformative Social Customer Service. 

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