Communication in today's society is completely different than in years past. I believe that social media is not only here to stay but that it also is going to soon be vital for any company that wants to have competitive advertising and customer service. The internet has made it possible for companies and consumers to have an interactive dialogue. Companies that do not see the worth of this new breakthrough in marketing are missing out on an inexpensive way to market and an excellent way to monitor the satisfaction of current customers. Facebook statistics say that approximately 700 billion minutes are spent on Facebook during any given month. This fact alone proves that social media is not just a fad. Facebook and other social platforms have turned into the primary way many people connect with others and this trend will only continue to get more and more popular.
Buying decisions of customers are affected by those they trust. The buying decisions of millions of people are affected daily via social platforms because of the massive number of people who use sites such as Facebook and twitter. Many companies have caught on to the wave and developed ways for the consumers to have live interaction with customer service employees. If a customer is unhappy with a product, a customer service agent can have a real-time conversation to fix the issue thereby reducing the probability of lost future business. Consumers who have grown accustomed to live interaction companies they do business with or their fellow consumer will not want to slip back into a world without this valuable resource. Social media is definitely permanent.
I think the customer complaint/customer service aspect of social media is one of the most interesting facets of this new medium! It completely changes the role of customer service in ways we don't fully understand yet, but companies had better catch on fast!
ReplyDeleteI agree. I'm always so impressed when I hear about companies like JetBlue that provide real-time customer service. Their customers can feel better about their experience and the problem is fixed immediately eliminating any potential negative feedback. I recently ran across Dunkin Donut's facebook page and was happy to see that when a customer complained on the facebook wall there was a procedure and deliberate course of action that the company took. It's definitely better to be proactive when it comes to customer service.
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