How Monarch Implemented a Social Strategy That Drives ROI

Monarch has been operating out of the UK since 1968. Since its inception, the airline has centered its business around one core objective: providing an exceptional customer experience. While Monarch’s goal has remained the same, the consumer journey has drastically changed since the company first took flight. Long gone are the days when call centers were the only answer to customer care.

The fact that 49% of consumers are more willing to purchase from brands that respond to them on social makes it imperative that Monarch is more than present online, it needs to be proactive. In accordance with its mission, the airline regularly engages in personalized conversations with current and prospective passengers.

But how does this investment translate to revenue? Like most organizations, Monarch’s team found it challenging to communicate the business impact of social engagement to leadership. This changed once the airline implemented a four-part approach focused on efficiency and driving ROI.

Break Down Silos & Structure for Efficiency

Monarch segments its social customer care team without sacrificing communication. The airline divides its customer care agents into two groups: ‘flights’ and ‘holidays.’ The flight team is responsible for pre- and post-flight inquiries while the holiday team manages all things related to Monarch’s travel packages. Twenty-four agents, split into two teams of 12, are active in Sprout Social. Regardless of where they sit, each agent is able to identify and task inbound messages to the appropriate contact. Best of all, agents don’t have to worry about overlap. Sprout’s user-level permissions and collision detection features ensure that duplicative efforts are avoided.

Invest in the Right Social Platforms

Eighty-percent of customer service requests on social happen on Twitter. And, when compared to other customer care channels, Twitter decreases the cost per customer care resolution by 80%. These figures alone make the platform a natural conversation hub for passengers looking for information or in need of an immediate response.

To accommodate the wants and expectations of their customers, Monarch doubled down on Twitter. Within eight months, Monarch decreased its reply thread size by 11%. The airline adopted a twofold strategy that focuses on proactive and reactive customer care.

Proactive, planned content is more advertorial. This content is meant to inspire and educate customers on where Monarch flies and what travel packages the airline offers.

Spend a week of luxury in Gran Canaria at the beautiful 5* Bohemia Suites & Spa! Flights & 7 nights from just £829pp https://t.co/2gNDdGi20W http://pic.twitter.com/B8rk2MrbDc

— Monarch (@Monarch) August 3, 2017

Reactive, real-time conversations are aimed at relationship building through quick, accurate responses. Customer care agents sign each Tweet with their initials. This extra level of engagement enables Monarch to build a personal rapport with passengers.

Thank you for the article! Hope to see you onboard very soon 🙂 ^NB https://t.co/xYSZJRhmHg

— Monarch (@Monarch) August 4, 2017

Put the Customer Experience First

A study conducted by Twitter, in partnership with Applied Marketing Science, revealed that customers who receive a response from an airline inquiry on Twitter are willing to spend approximately $9.00 more with that company. For Monarch, that means money. In 2016, Monarch publicly interacted with 20,342 unique users on Twitter–giving the airlines the potential to increase its yearly revenue by $183,078.

Still, a response isn’t enough. When customers interact with an airline on Twitter they expect that their problem is resolved on Twitter–not on another platform. A seamless customer experience stands out against the airline’s competitors.

But what happens when passengers are Tweeting questions with answers that rely on sensitive information? How does Monarch keep the conversation on Twitter when it will likely progress to confidential details?

When interactions start to move towards collecting sensitive information, agents direct customers to Twitter’s private message functionality with Twitter DM Deep Links. This enables customers to send a Direct Message to Monarch without leaving the original Tweet.

“The fact that we’re providing the DM Deep Link makes that process so much smoother. It goes back to the customer experience–making it easier and more friendly,” said Naomi Bressan, Social Media and Contact Executive at Monarch.

Since enabling Twitter DM Deep Links in Sprout, Monarch has experienced a 37% increase in DMs, allowing them to help more customers, more efficiently. Which, according to Twitter, is significantly higher than DM Deep Link’s average 30% Tweet-to-Direct Message conversion rate.

Standardize Reporting Metrics

Monarch’s team knew that in order for its social customer care and engagement efforts to be fully understood by leadership, reporting metrics had to be standardized. That’s why the team gives special attention to Sprout’s Twitter Feedback Report which highlights team Net Promoter® Scores (NPS)–a methodology used to gauge customer loyalty.

“Twitter NPS is amazing because our Customer Insights team is already using that system to measure customer satisfaction. Now, we can really start to measure social care and benchmark Twitter against our other channels,” said Bressan.

Standardizing reporting metrics across functions allows Monarch’s social team to accurately and effectively communicate the ROI of engagement across the organization. Since enabling Twitter Feedback, the airline reports an 8.8 out of 10 average customer satisfaction rating which correlates to an outstanding 50 NPS score. Proving to leadership that Monarch’s customers aren’t only present on Twitter, they’re engaged.

This post How Monarch Implemented a Social Strategy That Drives ROI originally appeared on Sprout Social.

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