The world of digital commerce is ever-changing when it comes to customers’ purchasing behavior and their expectations of brands. It’s no surprise that digital commerce growth spiked in 2020, but it doesn’t stop there. Worldwide e-commerce sales are projected to top $7 trillion in 2025, even as sales subside following a two-year boom.

Companies have to adjust to rapid changes in consumer behavior and growing consumer expectations. By providing exceptional customer experiences through personalized communication, brands remain competitive.

Adjusting to Social Media Influences
By 2025, Accenture forecasts that 62% of digital commerce spend will be done by Millennials and Gen Z. Being the dominant segment in the future of e-commerce, adjusting business practices to the expectations and behavior of these two generations is a must.

A recent study by Statista shows that over 54% of Gen Z and 58% of Millennials do their purchasing research on social media platforms. Another report forecasts that the number of Americans making their purchases directly on social networks will increase to 108 million by 2025, a growth of almost 37% from 2020. It’s clear that social media platforms are becoming the new e-commerce platforms.

Most consumers in today’s digital-first world use a social media account (or several). With nearly 60% of the global population being social media users as of July 2022, it’s no surprise that businesses across all industries have used that to their advantage.

By fostering a strong online presence, brands can not only conduct business directly on social media platforms, but they can also answer customer questions and resolve complaints via their social accounts.

Because 80% of consumers use social media to engage with brands, it’s essential for businesses to implement high quality customer care through their social channels.

Advantages of Outsourcing Social Media Customer Support
So how can brands deliver exceptional support to their customers while scaling their businesses? Partnering with a company that specializes in customer care can help you build customer trust so you can focus on accelerating growth and staying ahead of the competition.

Below are the top five advantages of outsourcing your social media customer support.

1. Saves Time & Resources
   Maintaining a high level of service is crucial to increasing customer satisfaction and increasing customer loyalty, but it can be difficult to focus on your core competencies while managing your customer care. Outsourcing your social media customer service will allow you to better allocate your time to what you do best, while trusting your partner to focus on the service aspect.
2. Lowers Costs
   Engaging in customer service requests on social media can reduce your cost per contact. By answering commonly asked questions quickly and efficiently on social platforms, fewer customers will need to reach out through other support methods for assistance. With the help from your dedicated customer care partner, you will be able to reach more customers while saving on costs.
3. Access to Customer Care Expertise
   While you’re an expert in your field, you probably don’t know the ins and outs of customer care the way an outsourcer does. Giving your customers outstanding service helps you maintain a positive brand image while building trust with your customers. Partnering with a company that can strategically service your customers through social media while maintaining brand alignment will help you provide a higher level of care. This will better satisfy your customers and boost your reputation.
4. Strategic Insights & Improved ROI
   Outsourcing your customer care will give you access to insights that will help you better understand your customers and their needs. Your partner will utilize strategic tools to analyze key metrics and customer engagement across your social channels, and improve your return on investment (ROI). This is especially important as your business grows and the customer journey evolves.
5. More Scalability
   If you don’t have to manage your customer support, you can focus on your core competencies and growing your business. The right outsourcer will act as an extension of your brand on all platforms and scale with you, so your customers never suffer and you don’t have to compromise on key aspects of running your business. This will help you scale faster in a more cost-efficient way.

Success Starts With Your People

As digital commerce platforms continue to grow and provide customers with more options, customers have higher expectations for brands and are becoming more selective about who they give their business to.

Research during the COVID-19 pandemic shows that consumers expect brands to look after their employees, with 78% expecting companies to prioritize their employees’ health, and 62% expecting flexible working conditions for employees.

Showing how brands care for their employees’ well-being goes a long way. This is especially crucial for content moderators, as their roles often involve reviewing a high volume of disturbing and violent content, which can take a significant toll on their mental health.

Prioritizing employee well-being is not only important for the health and well-being of content moderators, but it is also essential for the success and sustainability of the companies that employ them. More and more, this is becoming a requirement, as employee satisfaction is a key metric for consumers when evaluating which brands they want to put their trust in.

The Bottom Line
Today’s digital-first mindset will continue to shape consumer behavior, which means brands need to keep up in order to compete. Partnering with the right customer support provider can help you deliver exceptional CX and foster a positive brand culture from the inside out, ultimately leading to improved satisfaction and loyalty.

Learn more about IntouchCX’s customer care solutions today.