Using social media for customer service in the bus and transport industry. Examples of best practices, how to get started and platforms to consider for your own strategy.

1. Social media for
customer service
And what the future may hold

2. About Us
Social You are a digital marketing
agency based in Andover,
Hampshire.
We offer web design, web
development, user experience and
social media strategy. We put a
large focus on analytics across all
channels to ensure they are working
together as effectively as possible.
www.socialyou.co.uk 118/07/2017

3. Coming up
• Expectations
• Grumbles
• How do you include social?
• How should you use your channels?
• Integration, personalisation and time
• The future
www.socialyou.co.uk 218/07/2017

4. With social media well and truly embedded in our
culture, there are high expectations of companies on the
quality and speed of responses from brands.
The public nature of social media means that everyone
can see the customer service you are offering - good and
bad.
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5. www.socialyou.co.uk 418/07/2017

6. www.socialyou.co.uk 518/07/2017

7. Grumbles
www.socialyou.co.uk 618/07/2017

8. ‘There’s a large queue of people standing outside in the
middle of a bad storm. We deserve more explanation
than “operational reasons”
‘What do you mean by all the “technical difficulties” you
say your buses suffer from? Seems to always be the same
excuse.’
www.socialyou.co.uk 718/07/2017

9. ‘What operational issues cause a bus to fail to operate?
These updates border on the farcical.’
‘No explanation here as to the “no show” of the bus,
again! Was it operational reasons like all the other
cancellations today? A proper explanation I think is in
order instead of keep hiding behind that excuse.’
www.socialyou.co.uk 818/07/2017

10. www.socialyou.co.uk 918/07/2017

11. How can you include
social media?
www.socialyou.co.uk 1018/07/2017

12. As a 7 day a week service, the most useful way to
engage with your passengers is to provide service
updates and information.
www.socialyou.co.uk 1118/07/2017

13. www.socialyou.co.uk 1218/07/2017

14. Long- term, how can you tap into tech
developments, personalise the information and build
trust in customer service?
www.socialyou.co.uk 1318/07/2017

15. 1. Communication
2. Response
www.socialyou.co.uk 1418/07/2017

16. Determine Channel
Purpose
www.socialyou.co.uk 1518/07/2017

17. Real, live-time information feeds
Quick responses
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18. • Direct and helpful – Short, sharp information providing
useful alternatives
• Timely – Accurate facts in real time
• Synchronised – The same message across all channels
• Informative – Talk to them as passengers, not politicians or
technicians!
• Set expectations – Response times, scripted, operating
hours
www.socialyou.co.uk 1718/07/2017

19. www.socialyou.co.uk 1818/07/2017

20. • Complaints – Rank the type. Rant, mention or
direct question?
• Compliments – Feed back to staff if they’ve done a
good job
• Improvements – Take on board feedback and
comments
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21. www.socialyou.co.uk 2018/07/2017

22. Non-service, promotional information
Longer responses with more copy space
www.socialyou.co.uk 2118/07/2017

23. • Ticket promotions
• Competitions
• Local events
• Long-term work plans
www.socialyou.co.uk 2218/07/2017

24. www.socialyou.co.uk 2318/07/2017

25. • Attracting people
• Advertising costs
• Unofficial Pages
www.socialyou.co.uk 2418/07/2017

26. www.socialyou.co.uk 2518/07/2017

27. Channel Mix
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28. Once you’ve determined your channel purpose,
create some scenarios.
How does social media integrate with your
traditional customer service channels and
marketing?
www.socialyou.co.uk 2718/07/2017

29. Scenario
Overnight storms cause road closure on major routes
• Twitter – alternative routes, stops affected, delays likely, retweet passengers
giving info
• Website – update on status, sign post to Twitter live updates
• Facebook – share updates on issue directly or share local publication posts
• Display boards – ensure all communication is the same
• Staff – are they trained in channel use? Are they in the know?
www.socialyou.co.uk 2818/07/2017

30. Personalisation
www.socialyou.co.uk 2918/07/2017

31. Who are your customers?
• Students - Timetables, bus passes, fresher week
transport, wifi
• Commuters -Timetables, wifi, traffic updates,
connections
• Shoppers - New routes, offers, promotions
www.socialyou.co.uk 3018/07/2017

32. Time
www.socialyou.co.uk 3118/07/2017

33. • Resource allocation
• Work with traditional channels – not instead of
• Trusted sources – user accounts, publications
• Live vs automation of posts
www.socialyou.co.uk 3218/07/2017

34. Summary
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35. • Don’t automate too much
• Set expectations
• Build foundations
• Share useful and relevant information
• Be consistent and coordinated
• Train staff
• Get feedback
www.socialyou.co.uk 3418/07/2017

36. FUTURE
The future?
www.socialyou.co.uk 3518/07/2017

37. www.socialyou.co.uk 3618/07/2017

38. WhatsApp
“Starting this year, we will test tools
that allow you to use WhatsApp to
communicate with
businesses…that could mean
communicating with your bank
about whether a recent transaction
was fraudulent, or with an airline
about a delayed flight. ”
www.socialyou.co.uk 3718/07/2017

39. Future
• Messaging to multiple
customers
• Analytics
• Automated messages
• Inbound messages from
passengers
www.socialyou.co.uk 3818/07/2017

40. Messenger
www.socialyou.co.uk 3918/07/2017

41. Future
• Toolkit for devs to build
bots
• Send text messages
• Automated responses
• Payment systems
• No additional apps to
build or download
www.socialyou.co.uk 4018/07/2017

42. Contactless – Apple pay, watch, smartphone
www.socialyou.co.uk 4118/07/2017

43. Reward systems – NFC, check-in, social connect, loyalty
www.socialyou.co.uk 4218/07/2017

44. Cheaper tech – “Where are you?” “Just around the
corner, estimated 3 minutes away”
www.socialyou.co.uk 4318/07/2017

45. User crowd data to feed into drivers / HQ – Waze app, use people’s
social information to provide update to customers waiting.
www.socialyou.co.uk 4418/07/2017

46. Thank You
@hellosocialyou
www.socialyou.co.uk