Commentary

Facebook Customer Satisfaction Sinks (Again)

by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, July 17, 2012

For all its huge popularity, Facebook doesn’t seem to be particularly well-liked by its own users, according to the latest figures from the American Customer Satisfaction Index E-Business Report, which was produced in partnership with customer experience analytics firm ForeSee. Overall, Facebook scored a 61 out of 100 in terms of customer satisfaction -- down 8 points from 69 last year. That’s a new record low for companies in the social media category.

It’s not hard to imagine why people might be unhappy with Facebook: could it be the endless fiddling with privacy policies? The high-handed issuing of new email addresses “to make them consistent across the site?” The way it introduced “Timeline” with all the subtlety of a wild dog attack? The way it used their images without permission to advertise stuff with sponsored stories? The fact that it gives you more cookies than grandma?

Of course, it’s even harder to imagine people abandoning Facebook in droves because of these (or other) concerns, but never say never: the demise of MySpace provides a model, and there is some ominous buzz out there about people -- especially younger consumers -- cutting back their Facebook use or even leaving the site altogether. It’s not like there aren’t alternatives.

Speaking of which, the ACSI E-Business Report found that another social network, Google+, is scoring quite well in terms of customer satisfaction: on its first appearance in the ACSI, Google+ scored 78 out of 100, due in part to the “absence of traditional advertising” and a better mobile interface, according to the ACSI. That score is better than the e-business sector’s overall average of 74.2, and the ACSI national average of 75.9.

customer relations, facebook, research, social media, social networks

3 comments about "Facebook Customer Satisfaction Sinks (Again)".

Check to receive email when comments are posted.

Thomas Kennon from Free Radicals, July 17, 2012 at 4:19 p.m.
They should survey brand marketers to see how monolithically and unanimously pissed off they are at the way Facebook treats their actual paying customers.
There is an abiding arrogance within that business which will not go unpunished, eventually.
And to see Google+ scoring high with regular humans is of course encouraging and even competitively interesting.
All we need to do now is figure out the how & the why for brands on G+ and maybe we'll start doing some actual "social media" together between brands, networks and the humans they love.
Thom Kennon | @tkennon | bigevidence.blogspot.com | +Thom Kennon
Reply

Sean Grace from Strategic Franchising, July 17, 2012 at 5:27 p.m.

+1 for G+.

Steve Kavetsky from AgooBiz, Inc., July 19, 2012 at 10:10 a.m.

There seems to be no reciprocated respect from FB for all the benefits and eventual profits that the third party industries have brought to FB.

Facebook does what it does and how it does it because it can for now. Businesses flock to FB because it's really the only Social Network out there that has such a huge membership - PERIOD. If FB continues to operate without any cares for the supportive businesses that helped its success, then it's just a matter of time before other comparable networks pop up and a mass exodus ensues. This exodus is evident from the droves of private FB users who ran to Google+ when it was introduced. Many of them have stayed using the G+ platform, never looked back, and more have come to join them. Since then, a rift has formed between the die-hard G+ users and the FB users. G+ users have gained a reputation of being more technologically savvy than FB users.

If a platform arrives on the scene that is made strictly for businesses and provides superior support/training to its business users [compared to FB's dictatorial style], then the same exodus [as did with FB personal users toward G+] will begin for businesses toward this new platform.

I'm not saying FB's problems are beyond fixing but I doubt that FB ever will fix them because this is a symptom of FB's internal culture.

I'm not the only one who feels this way. What are your thoughts?

Some Things To Ponder:
A. Why did GM drop its advertising plans with Facebook during FB's IPO?
B. Why did the IPO get so much bad press and criticism?
There's an old saying: "There's no smoke without fire"

Steve Kavetsky
Co-Founder/Pres.
AgooBiz.com // The Social Commerce Network
"WE work greater than me"