Social media is becoming the most effective platform for providing great customer service, but businesses looking to extend their reach should be using multiple social media platforms in various languages. This presentation looks at examples of multilingual customer service on Twitter and WeChat.

1. Multilingual Customer Service
On Social Media
By: Gurleen Singh Bhatia, Jason Fernando, and Lesley Ning

2. Changing Consumer
Expectations
• 71% of customers aged 16-24 go online to
resolve a problem
• 87% of customers say social interaction matters
• 83% of customers will abandon a purchase
because of poor customer service
• Negative Word of Mouth spreads faster online
Source: J.D. Power and Associates, 2013 Social Media Benchmark Study

3. • People are increasingly turning to
Social Media to voice frustrations
with traditional customer service.
• This phenomenon is particularly
noticeable among younger
demographics ("Generation Y")
• Over 30% of people age 25 and
under are using social media to
complain about customer service
• We can reasonably expect that this
shift will accelerate over time.
• Enhancing customer service
through Social Media helps appeal
to this growing consumer demand.
Source: YouGov plc. Survey
The Shift to Social Media

4. Source: Simply Measured, Twitter Customer Service Study - June 2013.
Top Brands on Twitter show
Huge Potential for Growth

5. Speed Matters: Response Times
Source: Simply Measured, Twitter Customer Service Study - June 2013.

6. Source: Simply Measured, Twitter Customer Service Study - June 2013.
High Performance Brands Respond to the
Majority of Social Media Inquiries

7. Multilingual Customer Service
English Case Studies

8. Nike: An example of great
social media customer service

9. Source: Simply Measured, Twitter Customer Service Study - June 2013.
Customer Service Twitter Handles Send a
Large Volume of Messages

10. @Nike Engages Users with a
Marketing Approach

11. Personalized Engagement is Key

12. @NikeSupport engages users by
providing valuable customer support
• @NikeSupport focuses
solely on customer service
• Their responses to each
user are personalized
• These public interactions
build a positive brand
identity
• Customer service is
indirectly a powerful
marketing tool

13. Protect your Brand by
Turning Negatives into Positives

14. Royal Dutch Airlines:
Exemplary Social Media Guidelines
• KLM aims to respond to every user question
within 1 hour
• Every issue must be resolved within 24
hours
• KLM runs unique social media campaigns
that focus on customer service:
• KLM Surprise: after monitoring the social
media activity of a client, KLM would surprise
them at the airport with a small gift
• Trip Planner: A social application that allows
people to plan and book a trip with their
friends without leaving the app

15. KLM YouTube Video Promotion

16. Multilingual Customer Service
French Case Studies

17. • Lottery companies face the unique challenge of keeping their customers happy about a
product which offers an extremely low probability of success.
• Through their bilingual Twitter account, Loto Quebec provides their customers with timely
information while also engaging in friendly conversation.
• Here, they respond to a customer that is waiting in line to buy a lottery ticket by wishing her
"best of luck!" with her purchase.
Loto Québec:
Boost Customer Satisfaction

18. • This kind of light interaction
occurs frequently on Loto
Quebec's Twitter feed, and
helps foster positive
relationships in an industry
which is prone to
disappointed customers.
• The previous conversation
continues here, with
@Popinard saying
“It pays to be nice to Loto
players”; a spin-off of a Loto-
Québec slogan
• Loto-Québec responds with
“Where have I heard that
before ;)”
• Loto-Québec‟s interaction
plays with inside-jokes and
builds relationships with its
followers
Build Positive Relationships
on Social Media

19. • The Montréal Transportation System proactively responds to frustrated commuters, answering
questions in real-time in both English and French
• Engage with influencers through RTs and conversations
• Drive traffic toward related projects such as recruiting beta testers
• In this conversation, someone is asking STM about the service for a particular line. STM
responds and directs the user to a Twitter Handle specific to the transit line in question
STM: Be Helpful and Informative

20. • Here STM tells its followers where a particular
bus route ends, someone responds asking if
they will be stuck at the final destination
• The user also creates a negative hashtag (the
equivalent of #deadlocked)
• STM responds by directing the user to a
relevant section of its website with specific
transit routes available at the station
Share relevant resources to drive web traffic

21. Multilingual Customer Service
Chinese Case Studies

22. • WeChat has 30M registered users and 19M active users
• It is used by companies and organizations in various fields: Destination
Marketing Organization‟s (DMO‟s), gaming, financial groups, retailers, real
estate, education, E-commerce, etc.
• Great tool for cutting customer service costs
• A new effective way to attract and interact with targeted Chinese customers
Engage Chinese Customers on WeChat

23. - By scanning the QR code on Starbucks coffee
sleeves, users get a chance to win coupons and
become Starbucks members
- Users can download customized „Starbucks‟
wake-up music for their phone alarms.
Starbucks China WeChat Campaign

24. Podinns Hotels
• Number of followers has increased from 0 to 550K in half an year
• Apps allow users to book hotel rooms and check availability on
WeChat
• Provide services such as customized dinner menus
• WeChat facilitates the hotel
experience
• Location services

25. • Book confirmations
• Look up popular
local shopping
destinations and
restaurants
• Check the weather
• Contact hotel
managers
Podinns Hotel’s WeChat apps allow users to:

26. • Create a Customer Service account on the right
social platforms
• Listen to what customers are saying
• Develop a social media response guideline
• Be proactive
• Respond quickly and personalize messages
• Provide service in multiple languages
What Can You Do?

27. Questions?
Tweet us @LATMultilingual with the hashtag #LATSocial