Companies falling behind their customers on social networking

New study finds chasm between consumer expectation and company engagement when it comes to social media and networking

Consumer expectations about how they want to interact with companies on social networking sites, and what they want to achieve through those engagements, is vastly outpacing the speed at which businesses are embracing the social web as a customer engagement channel.

That’s the latest finding of RightNow’s regularly commissioned research into UK customer experiences. As increasing numbers of consumers flock to social networking sites, forums and branded communities for help, advice and product recommendations, the study found a deficit of involvement from the companies whose products are being discussed in those locations.

For instance, 43 percent of respondents engage with a company’s online community as an important way of getting tips and advice about a product, yet only 15 percent have ever connected directly with a company representative through social channels.

Likely to be the most damaging area of company disengagement is when consumers turn to social networking sites as a mechanism for complaining about negative customer experiences.

Only 24 percent of those using social networking sites as means to complain said they’d been contacted by a representative from that brand following a comment post. The study found that the void left by a company’s lack of response to these public complaints is plugged by other consumers with 50 percent of those who had posted the initial comment seeing others follow up with posts about their own poor experiences.

The reasons why people Twitter or post poor reviews on websites about negative customer experiences may serve to exacerbate the lack of involvement of businesses on the social web. While the top reason (65 percent) is to inform others about a poor experience, 34 percent do so with the expectation that the company will respond to them as they haven’t been able to get assistance elsewhere.

Consumer expectation about how they want to engage with brands through the social web is illustrated by the 14 percent of respondents who go straight to this channel with an issue they want the company to resolve, without having first tried any other method of interaction. In fact, the study also found that, compared with five years ago, consumers are moving their complaints online and into new social media channels. They are relying less on phone and letter writing and more on email, the review sections of websites and social networking sites.

 For companies cautious about annoying consumers with over-zealous engagement, the study identified three distinct events where consumers would welcome contact from a company representative through the social web:

1. Following a post about a negative customer experience on a social networking site, 58 percent  would be happy for the company in question to contact them
2.  56 percent would welcome interaction with a company following a post about a specific product or service issue, and
3. 50 percent are open to a company contacting them following a post about a positive customer experience

Commenting on the survey’s findings, Joe Brown, EMEA General Manager at RightNow, said:  “It’s not one hundred percent clear why there’s such disconnect between what consumers expect from engagements with brands on the social web, and what companies are actually doing. ‘Fear of the unknown’ could well be a factor, but organisations need to understand that where the social web is concerned, there is no controlling what’s being said about your brand, your products – even the customer experiences you provide. Those discussions are happening every minute, every day – whether you join in or not. By monitoring the relevant social platforms and integrating this new channel of interaction into their contact centres, organisations can become an active participant in the dialogue.”

Giving her take on the study psychologist Corinne Sweet  says “I want an answer, and I want it now...is how most people feel when they want to complain.  The speed and ease of making a complaint via the internet has created a revolution in how people communicate with companies who give them grief.  Customers can feel alienated, isolated and disempowered when things go wrong, so anything that speeds up a response – and a reply – and anything that answers their questions precisely is worth its weight in gold.”