Nearly half (46%) of UK consumers use social media for online purchasing decisions and over a third (35%) use it to vent about bad customer service, according to new research.
The YouGov survey of over 2000 UK consumers, commissioned by online customer helpdesk Sirportly, found that 46% of people said they now count on social media when making an online purchasing decision.
However, 55% of under 35s say they use social media to vent about bad customer service, and 35% of all ages go to social networks to talk about their frustrations.
Regular social media use means Gen Y is 14% less likely to receive a slow response or no response at all — suggesting a correlation between web-savvy consumers and their ability to track down a swift online customer service response.
Three times as many people use Facebook to vent about bad customer service than Twitter, implying a feeling that customer service horror stories are best shared with friends.
People who use Facebook experience fewer customer service problems than users of other social media sites (34% of Facebook users, 40% across the social media board).
“Not responding to customers effectively over social media platforms is reputation suicide,” Adam Cooke, creator of Sirportly, said.
Steve Hurn, CEO of social commerce company Reevoo commented: “Brands will not want to hear that over a third of consumers are publically complaining about bad customer service to their social networks, it can strike fear into the heart of brand managers that are not digitally and socially savvy.
“However the way to deal with this is not to stick your head in the sand and hope your brand doesn’t come under fire, but rather to ensure you have honest and verified reviews of your products and services online. This research reveals that there’s a desire for consumers to make their feelings known to brands, and if you don’t proactively request consumer feedback you tend to get only the extreme views – people with an axe to grind – which is not a true reflection of your brand or service.
“The mere presence of bad reviews isn’t enough to put most consumers off: it’s the ratio of good to bad that matters. A few bad reviews carry much less weight with consumers when they appear alongside dozens or hundreds of good reviews. Less than 1% of consumers leave a retailer’s website after seeing one badly reviewed product. Most importantly, bad or critical reviews aren’t just good for the shopper – they’re good for the business owner too.
“Rigorous reviewing from loyal customers will help you improve your products and services. Furthermore, this thoughtful and detailed feedback will give you the opportunity to demonstrate how responsive you are to your customers. If you haven’t done it already, it is now time to get out there and begin gathering this valuable feedback from your customers, positive or negative.”
http://sirportly.com/