How Social Listening Can Help Improve Your Customer Service

Imagine being able to tune into conversations happening all over the internet about your brand, your industry, and the topics that matter most to your target audience. Now, imagine using all that data to understand your customers better and enhance their experience with your brand.

That’s what social listening is all about.

In a 2022 survey, almost 61% of the surveyed businesses had some type of social listening system in place. More than 82% viewed social listening as a key planning element in their marketing strategy.

Why are so many businesses investing in social listening? How does it work and how does it improve customer service? Follow along as we explore these questions and tell you exactly why social listening is the game-changer your business needs.

What Is Social Listening in Customer Service?

Social listening tracks and analyzes online conversations to gain actionable insights into customer opinions and sentiments. It’s like conversing with your audience at scale—listening to what they say about your products, services, and competitors.

Unlike traditional social monitoring, which only tracks brand mentions, social listening dives deeper into the context and emotions behind conversations. It helps you answer questions like:

• What is the general feedback around your brand at the moment?
• What challenges do your customers face, and how can you help solve them?
• How are your competitors being talked about, and what can you learn from that?
• What seasonal trends in your industry should you be aware of?
• How can you better engage with your audience on social media?

Social listening helps you answer these questions, giving you the insights into customer sentiment you need to respond quickly, tweak your strategies, and keep your customers happy. It allows you to be proactive, spotting issues before they blow up and jumping into conversations where you can make a real difference.

For example, using social media listening, BlackGirlSunscreen (BCG) handles this customer feedback on Twitter:

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Though the customer never tagged BGS’s account, the brand could use social media listening to find this tweet and provide a helpful and timely response.

This is an excellent example of how social listening helps you catch feedback from social media data—whether it’s praise that you can amplify or criticism that you need to address.

6 Ways Social Listening Improves Customer Service

Here are six ways social listening customer service enhances your efforts, complete with examples of real brands that are nailing it:

Mitigate Negative Feedback

Negative feedback is inevitable, but how you respond makes all the difference. By being respectful, helpful, and timely in addressing customer concerns, you turn a negative situation into an opportunity to wow customers.

Keep in mind that if your customer service is excellent, 78% of consumers are likely to do business with you again, even if you’ve made a mistake. This shows the importance of handling feedback well, especially when things go south.

Take a look at this exchange between Delta Hotels and a Twitter user:

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The user simply posted about their experience with Delta—no tags, direct complaints, or expectations. However, because Delta was closely monitoring its social media channels, it caught the brand mention within an hour and offered to upgrade the customer’s room. I bet this improved customer satisfaction!

Here is another example from social media posts—it’s an exchange between SouthWest Airlines and a customer on Twitter:

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While Southwest Airlines’ original tweet could have gone badly, their quick, witty response won back the customer, even earning them a “you guys are solid!”

Remember, 83% of customers say they feel more loyal to brands that actively respond to and resolve their complaints. When you use social listening to address customer concerns, you’re not just fixing a problem—you’re building loyal customers.

And it’s not just the person who complained who’s paying attention. Over half of X users find seeing how brands publicly address questions or solve issues helpful. This means when you use social media monitoring to handle a complaint gracefully and efficiently, it demonstrates to many people that your brand is committed to providing excellent customer service.

Gain a Competitive Edge

Customer service is also about the impression you create before people even decide to try your business.

For instance, let’s say a user posts on social media looking for recommendations for a new business. Social listening can help you join this conversation at the right time, introduce your brand, and make a positive first impression.

This is a golden opportunity to show people that your brand is attentive, responsive, and ready to help before they become your customers.

For example, look at how we responded to this Twitter user looking to try a new social listening tool:

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The customer never tagged us or asked for reviews about Mention, but we saw our chance to enter a relevant conversation, and we took it.

When prospects see you engaging in social media conversations through social media monitoring and solving problems before they reach out to you, it creates a lasting positive impression.

Incorporate Real-Time Suggestions

Social listening gives you a direct line to your customer’s thoughts, allowing you to gather real-time feedback and use it to improve your business.

For instance, imagine you’re a beauty brand that has just launched a new line of foundations. You hop online and notice customers discussing that your brand doesn’t have many shades for certain skin tones.

Instead of ignoring these conversations, you use this feedback to create a new, inclusive line of products that directly address customer needs. This helps you enhance the overall customer experience.

Check out this exchange between Starbucks and a Twitter user:

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Starbucks responds to this suggestion by thanking the customer and inviting her to leave a request using their form.

This real-time responsiveness to suggestions makes customers feel valued and appreciated, setting your brand apart.

Respond to Customer Queries

Customers want their questions answered quickly and effectively. Data shows that over 50% of consumers remember brands that actively respond to their customers on social media. This is another instance of social listening that is coming in handy.

For instance, if a customer is curious whether you offer a certain product or is having trouble using your customer training tool, they might post their question on social media, hoping for a quick response.

Without social listening tools to monitor social media platforms, you may miss their question and have a situation that looks like this:

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But with a social listening tool, you immediately catch such queries, ensuring your customers aren’t left waiting. Check out how well (and quickly) Nike Service responds to this customer’s query:

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What’s more, research shows that 46% of consumers think engaging with an audience on social media makes a brand stand out online. That engagement starts by being aware of the questions your customers are asking.

When you respond quickly and with useful information, you show that your brand is attentive and reliable. Customers will appreciate and remember your quick response, as seen in this interaction between Wix and a customer:

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Wix responded so promptly and helpfully that the customer posted a “#goodcustomerservice” hashtag, creating a positive impression of Wix for anyone seeing the post.

Track Your Team’s Performance

Social listening isn’t just for catching bad reviews—it’s also a great way to track the performance of your CX team.

Let’s say your team has questions about a recent product launch. Social listening lets you track those mentions and see how your team handles them.

Are customers getting their questions answered promptly? Is the tone of the responses friendly and helpful?

You’ll have a clear picture of your team’s performance and where improvement is possible.

Social listening also helps you highlight and reward your best customer service representatives. If a customer has given a team member a shoutout, recognizing and celebrating that individual’s efforts will boost morale and set a standard for others.

On the flip side, if you notice issues or negative feedback about how your team interacts with customers, it can be a chance to provide targeted training or improve processes.

Online mentions also help you track how your customer service team performs at your call centers or deals with customers in physical stores. For instance, check out this interaction between Starbucks and a customer:

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Starbucks responded to this customer’s negative experience and could potentially use the feedback to identify the responsible employee and enhance training to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Humanizes Your Customer Interactions

Many businesses use auto-generated and formal replies when dealing with customers online. While this keeps things efficient, it can also come off as cold and impersonal.

69% of customers today want a personalized customer experience. They seek genuine connections with the brands they interact with and don’t want to feel like they’re talking to a faceless corporation.

Social listening is a great tool for humanizing interactions with your target audience, making your brand relatable and approachable.

Let’s say a customer tweets something funny about your product. Instead of replying with a standard “Thank you for your feedback,” you respond with a light-hearted joke or a clever comment. This kind of interaction shows your brand has a personality.

For instance, look at this interaction on Twitter:

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Notice how Casper mirrors the tone of this dissatisfied customer in a fun and lighthearted way. Even though the customer seems frustrated with the brand, Casper maintains a sense of humor and offers helpful suggestions.

Another brand that has nailed personalized customer service is Wendy’s. They often respond to customer queries or complaints with witty, funny comebacks that have made their customer service team popular on Twitter. Look at this interaction as an example:

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While Wendy’s snappy responses may seem like a risky customer service move, they are highly enjoyed by users all over social media. Plus, this is an excellent example of using user-generated content (UGC) for marketing.

According to statistics, 93% of UCG marketers say it performs better than traditional content. Many Wendy’s customers deliberately make posts hoping for a funny response, and social media listening helps the brand quickly join the conversation, which directs even more attention towards the brand.

This shows that humanizing your online interactions has a direct impact on customer service. You ensure your brand is remembered and valued by joining in the fun with a witty response or a playful meme.

Here’s another example—Urban Decay attracts attention with this hilarious response to a customer tweet:

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The tweet never tagged Urban Decay or mentioned the brand’s name. But Urban Decay used social listening to find mentions of their Naked Heat palette and pulled a brilliant customer service move by tweeting this funny response.

When customers feel like they’re talking to real people, their whole impression of a brand improves. Treating customers as individuals keeps them coming back, and social listening is your secret weapon for making that happen.

Use Mention to Improve Your Customer Service

Executing a social listening strategy is easy with the right tools. Mention is a social listening and brand monitoring platform trusted by thousands of marketers and agencies worldwide.

Whether you want to monitor mentions, topics, brands, hashtags, or personalities, Mention ensures you gain complete visibility and actionable data. Here’s why it stands out:

• Efficient tracking—Create precise alerts and gather relevant mentions quickly across social media platforms using our assisted query-building feature. Our smart filtering options ensure you cut through the noise and focus only on mentions that truly matter.

• Customizable reports—Tailor reports to your needs with detailed overviews of KPIs related to brand presence, sentiment changes, brand awareness, and social media engagement. Our reports help you evaluate the effectiveness of your customer service initiatives.

Ready to see Mention in action? Book a 15-minute call with a Mention expert, or start your free trial today!