CSUK TV - Brought to You By SDI

Social media gives consumers the power

Posted 21-12-2011 in Blog

Consumers are becoming more vocal about the service they receive thanks to the growth of social media, with research from Spherion finding that 17 per cent now express their views via sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

Further supporting the idea that consumer opinion broadcast over social media is growing, 49 per cent of those polled would be very unlikely to do business with a company if it had received bad reviews from sources they trust.

"Because of the extreme connectivity that the growth of social media has spurred between consumers and companies, people are more willing than ever to speak up about the way they feel about a particular brand," says Spherion vice president Sandy Mazur.

Despite this evident connectivity between businesses and their potential customers, other research shows that many are still  failing to use social media to interact with or respond to people trying to engage with them about bad experiences (or even good).  Read our article on businesses failing to fully understand social media.

Spherion's research shows the best reason to engage properly with customers on social media - the growing influence that current customers have on potential buyers can work both ways - it's not just about damage limitation it's about creating advocates and letting them share a good experience instead of a negative one.  It takes a bit of courage when it's via a public platform, but responding at the first signs of trouble is the best way to change a customer's mind, and since we're always surprised when someone manages to do this it's human nature to go and tell people about it.

So what this is really about is not just recognising that bad reviews online influence others, but that an increasing propensity towards sharing experiences and being influenced by them amongst customers is an opportunity more than anything else. You know that it's important to appease an unhappy customer and prevent esculating disquiet. Do it well though, and you can also create some of your biggest advocates. Going through a complete turnaround of emotion and opinion is more likely to impress than a regular 'satisfactory' experience.  And, you've guessed it, these social animals who can influence others negatively are just as capable of spreading the love online too, a compelling reason to welcome the connectivity that the age of consumer empowerment has brought with open arms - and social networks.