Traditionally, a surgeon does not cut you open to ascertain your heart health. We are all familiar with the doctor placing their fingers on our arms, locating a vein to check our pulse. A beating, healthy heart is a sign that we are going strong, from the inside out.
Contrary to what big-ticket consultancies turnover in profit, nearly 100% of the time we are able to check the companies health via their customer service, customer process, experience and digital/social interactions.
Here is a list to check your company’s digital heartbeat against and see if you are the owner of a healthy, thriving business.
- Online Customer Service (across all platforms)
Your brand or businesses behaviour in response to customers on social media says a lot about the overall approach to business and will affect your brand reputation. Analysing customer reactions to your responses can be an effective method for sentiment tracking for overall brand reputation.
Social media has forced brands and businesses to provide customer service in real time and is now a genuine expectation of many customers. Whilst it may seem like a lot to ask, brands and businesses can now offer set customer service hours on socials or at least be available to answer questions and handle queries via chatbots.
This offering is absolutely something no business can ignore. If your response rate to queries and complaints is over 24 hours, you need to pick up your game. Social media is so transparent, that all customers and prospects in your target audience can see how you interact online, so your brand’s reputation is always under scrutiny.
- Digital Multi-Platform Fluidity (consistency across all modes of digital platforms)
It is a rarity these days for a customer to be exclusive to a PC or laptop screen . Businesses need to be able to offer customer service and brand consistency across all digital platforms and not spread themselves too thinly.
Providing communication pathways on all platforms such as your website, Facebook Messenger and Google based platforms so that inquiries are not missed is vital. Being able to manage your social and digital platforms efficiently and regularly to ensure that your content is not going stale or experiencing creative fatigue is also a non negotiable.
The tone, font, imagery and messaging all need to be consistent across the platforms so there is no confusion about where the customer has landed when they get to one of your pages.
Ensuring that your website is made for mobile may seem like digital 101 but it can often be the case that a video, blog or link works perfectly on your laptop and is a totally different experience on mobile.
A business or brand with a healthy heart is one that is transparent, always available, consistent and on top of customer service on all available digital platforms.
- Integrate your Digital Channels
Do you have a Facebook page? (please say yes!) Advertise your Twitter and Youtube channel on there too. Cross pollination is great to keep the consumer aware that you are present across a range of channels and “always on”.
Remember, being consistent with your tone, content, messaging and availability across all your selected platforms is better than being part of, but not present on, all the digital platforms. Incorporate memes, video, static imagery and share others content (ensuring you acknowledge the source) to add variety to your content and cater to all the strongpoints of each digital platform.
- Social Media Transparency
Consumers’ opinions on transparency are pretty much black and white. Millennials want an inside look into companies’ values, ranking this higher than information about changes to products and services.
Ignoring questions ,regardless of who asks them, can be detrimental for a brand or business. Admitting mistakes, acknowledging concerns and addressing any changes to your product or services are all extremely important practices to ensure your business is coming out on top when it comes to transparency.
Getting a bad review and responding can negate any harm that this review may have done if you had left it to fester. People prefer when brands admit their mistakes and are more likely to give the brand or company a second chance if the query is acknowledged. Always being open about what your brand and company stands for is a positive and will ensure that you tick the transparency box when it comes to digital media.
A business or brand with a healthy heart is one that is transparent, always available, consistent and totally on top of customer service on all available digital platforms . The road to achieving brand recognition, longevity and success on social media platforms is not a fast one. Building rapport and trust takes ongoing effort and time.
By checking in on your company heartbeat using the above listed steps, you can take your brand consistency to an entirely new level. This can help you establish yourself as an industry leader, drastically increasing your share of the digital consumer market.
This list is just a start, after all, social media is a new technology that’s evolving every year!