Dealing with negative reactions
How do they deal with negative statements about their brand? “We respond with empathy, but we don’t respond to insults,” says Marloes (Interpolis). Maikel: “Well, tweeters like to make statements. Ultimately, people want to be heard. I see an angry tweet as a critical note. The tone often changes quickly. With attention, you can turn almost anything into a positive experience. People who have made a disapproving statement are often the first to let people know that they were helped well. In this way, complainers can become ambassadors.”
Both accounts are mainly active between 9 and 5. While their customers can have damage 24 hours a day. Critics say that this is actually very strange, because damage can occur 24 hours a day. Maikel: “We respond directly to the needs of our customers. We have made a thorough analysis of our customer population and it has become clear that the customer does not necessarily think that there should be 24-hour webcare”. At OHRA, they give a signal within 2 hours that the tweet has been read and they try to help the customer within 24 hours. Tim: “We would often like to respond to questions or complaints faster than we do now. This has everything to do with the fact that the social media channel is still in its infancy, which is why we are now busy setting up the organization in such a way that a question via Twitter is treated with the same urgency as questions via other channels. To introduce social media into the organization, you need a lot of patience. The golden rule is not to force others to get started with social media, but to show what is happening on social media. And what customers have to say about the organization. In this way, the organization automatically becomes enthusiastic about the tool and the interaction. By showing as much as possible what it delivers, others will automatically follow.”
Marloes (Interpolis): “You sometimes see that people on Twitter are helped faster than people who call. We don't think that's a good idea. Equal monks, equal hoods. A tweeter doesn't necessarily have to have an advantage. Twitterers don't get VIP treatment.” Maikel from OHRA disagrees with her: “I don't think that's so bad, faster service via Twitter, it seems more important to me to adjust the service level agreements to the medium.”
Direct Writer
OHRA is a direct writer and Interpolis is not, that is the main difference between the two insurers. Is that kazakhstan phone number list difference crucial? “Certainly,” confirms Tim (Interpolis). “Because we are not a direct writer, we do not focus on sales. In addition, we do not provide advice on insurance, that is the task of Rabobank, Interpolis' distribution partner, with whom we also work well.”
The Future
How does Interpolis see the future? “Twitter is not going to replace regular customer service,” says Marloes. “If you have had a car accident, you are not going to report it via Twitter, you just want to speak to a person or you choose to report the damage on the spot via an app on your smartphone.” Tim does believe that Twitter will play a larger role in damage reporting: “Of course there is a good chance that we will move towards reporting damage via Twitter, ultimately, that depends on what the customer wants.” Although the entire organization is already fully behind the small team, they hope that social media will become more embedded in the coming years. Twitter should become a fully-fledged channel and eventually be run by customer service.
Maikel (OHRA): “I don’t think the Twitter channel will still exist in this form in five years, we will probably move to a platform where everything is integrated.” OHRA wants to seek dialogue even more and consolidate the agreement with the back office. “The old broadcasting model of organizations has already been overhauled,” Maikel continues. “The power now largely lies with the consumer. Consumers value the experiences of others, they no longer automatically take the same insurance as their parents had. Particularly via Twitter, you can show the experiences of others and you can show what you do with negative experiences. So we will continue to seek dialogue, that will not change anymore.”