Conversation Monitoring and Customer Service

Here’s some food for thought: 42% of consumers who connect with brands online say they expect a response from the brand within an hour (Akbar, 2013). One hour. That’s it! Talk about instant gratification. While it’s seemingly a short amount of time, organizations who are in-tune with the needs of their customers will respond before that 60 minutes is up. Why? Because they are already actively participating in the conversation surrounding their brand.

One of the many benefits of social media, according to David M. Scott (2013), is that actively participating in in online communities with consumers enables an organization to build and earn trust, sympathy and “patience when something goes wrong” (p. 67).  Be it an online forum, Twitter, Facebook, or some other form of social media, the Internet serves as a “massive focus group with uninhibited customers offering up their thoughts for free!” (p. 64). 

That’s one of the greatest lessons in Scott’s discussion of social media and a brand’s targeted audience: that conversation monitoring and participating in discussions (be they good or bad) is critical. Having a social media presence proves “that you care about the people who spend money with your organization” (p. 64). 

Scott uses two examples on opposite ends of the spectrum to illustrate his point:

• SONY BMG. After discovering that the anti-piracy software on Sony CD’s installed malware on his computer, Mark Russinovich took to his blog to air his grievances. Others quickly chimed in or wrote their own posts on the topic, calling for a boycott of Sony and accusing the brand of treating customers poorly. While the criticism gained momentum, Sony remained silent; it took five days for the President of the company to respond. Though an exchange system for the malware-affected CDs was eventually instituted, the damage had already been done; several lawsuits were filed (pp. 61-63). 
• B&H Photo-Video. When Nikon released a hotly-anticipated camera, many turned to specialty store B&H Photo-Video to order the product. The only problem: Nikon changed its distribution model and included chains like Best Buy, so B&H couldn’t fulfill all of the orders it received. The backlash from the situation occurred in an online forum; the difference, however, is that a B&H employee actively participated in the forum while the conversation was happening. The employee was honest and apologetic in posting responses to customer concerns, and the tone of the conversation ultimately became less critical and more positive (pp. 66-67).

Overall, these examples illustrate how participating in online discussions surrounding your brand can help build and maintain an organization’s reputation. On the flip side, it also proves how avoiding these conversations can be detrimental. Even further, we see that immediate response is critical (42% of consumers demand it!).

References:

Akbar, A. (2013, Nov. 5). The Impact of Social Media On Customer Service. HubShout. Retrieved from: http://hubshout.com/?The-Impact-of-Social-Media-on-Customer-Service-[VIDEO-&-INFOGRAPHIC]&AID=1060

 

Scott, D.M. (2013) The New Rules of Marketing and PR. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.