As part of her Social Shake-Up presentation today, Social Media Today CEO Robin Carey will announce the launch of a new podcast, "Focus on Customer Service." The podcast will be hosted by me and Dan Moriarty, and will feature brands which are offering amazing customer service via social media. It will appear regularly on Social Media Today.
Lots of people are talking about content and marketing on social media, but this podcast will focus on the other side of social that many brands overlook - customer service.
At first only the channel of last resort - when other service channels failed - social media is quickly becoming the channel of first resort for many customers, requiring companies to be as prepared on social as they are in the call center, on e-mail, or click-to-chat.
Dan and I have been there. We've dealt with the fear of entering an unknown channel where every service interaction is public. We've dealt with hiring and training agents specifically to handle social. And we've dealt with trying to integrate social service across the broader organization. We want to share our knowledge but also highlight and learn from great companies doing great customer service on social media.
And here's the twist: we don't pick the guests. Brands must be nominated to appear on the show by one of their own customers, via our hashtag, #FOCS.
We're so excited to welcome Natanya Anderson from Whole Foods Market as our first guest, and that inaugural episode is available now. Natanya will be followed by Laurie Meacham from JetBlue Airways, Joe Stupp from Chipotle Mexican Grill, and many others in future episodes.
Episode #1: Natanya Anderson, Whole Foods Market
Here's something that no one can ever take away from Natanya Anderson, the Global Director of Social Media, CRM and Customer Service for Whole Foods Market: She is the first-ever guest on the Focus on Customer Service podcast! And she definitely didn't disappoint.
Some of the most quotable moments of the inaugural episode include:
- "We really want to put the customer at the center of everything."
- "I only want to make something better, faster, stronger if it benefits the customer."
- "I want people to have such great experiences with our customer care team that they want to tell other people about how great the care was and then how much that makes them an advocate for Whole Foods Market."
- "Every social media channel you open is a channel for care."
Here are the highlights of Episode 1 and where to find them:
(2:48) Whole Foods' philosophy toward customer service, and the role it plays within the company
(5:15) Is Customer Service the new marketing?
(6:00) How to create better customer outcomes
(7:00) Natanya's day-to-day role
(9:07) How Whole Foods keeps 700 social media platforms organized
(12:20) Brand consistency vs. local flavor
(17:47) The role of response time
(21:25) Natanya's advice for those starting out in social care
(25:50) What Natanya likes to tweet about when she's not at work
To nominate other brands to be featured on the Focus on Customer Service podcast, please use the hashtag #FOCS.