A new study by MarketTools, Inc., shows that, although 34% of the executives surveyed stated that they were aware of customers using social media to comment on or complain about their company and
its products, less than one-fourth of these executives said that their companies “always” respond to these customers.
Karin Adams, Director of Enterprise Products at MarketTools,
says “Companies are increasingly embracing social media as a way to interact with their customers, though they are missing an opportunity to incorporate this feedback into a voice of the
customer program...”
The study revealed a disparity in the way companies think and the way they act in regards to customer satisfaction. Although 95% of respondents believe that
satisfied customers are very important or extremely important to their company, only 36% have formal voice of the customer (VOC) programs in place to collect and analyze customer feedback. And of
those companies with formal VOC programs, 45% solicit customer feedback on a quarterly or less frequent basis.
33% of executives surveyed said that their companies have a greater focus
on using social media as a channel to capture customer feedback when compared to this same time last year. When asked what areas of the company are active in social media:
- 44% of those
surveyed cited public relations, 42% cited corporate marketing, and product marketing and customer service/support were each cited by 34% of the respondents.
- Of the 68% of companies that
have an active presence in social media, 48% have an active presence on Facebook, 24% on Twitter, and 17% on their own company blog.
- 22% of those surveyed stated that their company’s
CEO regularly participates in social media on behalf of the company. Facebook is the social media channel of choice, used by 68% of the CEO’s, followed by 44% who participate on the
company blog, and 35% who participate on Twitter.
For more information, please visit MarketTools here.