Study: Brands falling flat in social

Most brands these days have a social media presence, but that presence may not be helping the brand. That is the takeaway from a new study out from Northridge Group. According to their findings about one-third of consumers who contact brands via social media never get a response to their question or problem.

by Kristina Knight

While most consumers use social networks to stay up-to-date with friends and family, many are also using social media to contact brands for customer service issues. The problem? Many of those brand questions go unanswered in social media. One-third of consumers report never getting a response from the businesses when they try to contact through social media; about one-fourth (25%) say they turn to social media when other channels garner no response.

"Nearly half of consumers plan to use social media for customer service issues the same or more than they currently do. There are clearly opportunities for companies to provide excellent customer service on all channels including social media," said Therese Fauerbach, CEO of the Northridge Group. "Consumers want to use social to resolve problems, but the experience is inconsistent compared to other channels. Social media is a critical channel that companies should leverage to deliver a seamless omni-channel customer experience."

Other interesting findings from the report include:

• 63% of consumers have to contact brands at least 2 times via social media to get a response
• 42% of consumers want a resolution within an hour when using social media
• 39% of consumers report social media inquiries take at least a week to complete

Tags: customer service tips, Northridge Group, social marketing, social media