Digital marketing isn't complete without the use of social media. Whether it be Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Pinterest, if companies want to have a complete targeted internet marketing plan, they must use social media. But, while some companies may be on these social networking sites, many of them are not getting the most out of their time there.
Using the recent American Express survey on the use of social media, STELLAService conducted an experiment testing the overall effectiveness of Twitter with its list of top 25 companies. The former issued anonymous customer service tweets to all the companies on the list and found that 56 percent of customer tweets to companies are being ignored.
Of those questions that were answered, only 44 percent were answered within 24 hours. Furthermore, there were only two companies that were guaranteed to get back to customers: Zappos.com and L.L. Bean. Zappos was the champion of the companies on Twitter, boasting an average response time of 54 minutes and 37 seconds.
"These customers are digitally engaged," said STELLAService CEO Jordy Liser. "They're shopping online and they're [using] social media to talk about the retailers that treat them well. Companies that are serious about giving customers the highest quality customer service should take a close look at how they manage Twitter interactions because the nature of the medium calls for fast and efficient communication."
According to the American Express survey, 42 percent of social media users are more likely to tell other consumers about good experiences with 53 percent more likely to warn about unfortunate ones. Furthermore, social media savvy customers are 21 percent more willing to spend more for excellent customer service.
For companies to get the most out of the customers that follow them on platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, they need to make them happy by providing a humanistic customer service experience on the internet.