• by Aaron Baar , January 18, 2018

Consumers are turning more and more to social media as their first point of contact for brands. It's good news for the wireless sector that they're efforts in that channel are paying off. 

According to J.D. Power’s latest Wireless Customer Care studies, consumers are registering higher satisfaction scores when they go through social and app channels than they do through more traditional venues, such as the phone. 

“It’s a matter of companies catching up to what a good percentage of the customer base is looking for,” Peter Cunningham, technology, media, and telecommunications practice lead at J.D. Power, tells Marketing Daily. “They're putting more and more focus and personnel into it. I think they are delivering engagement in the ways people want to engage.”

The personal touch, however, still matters. Consumers still express higher satisfaction rates when the company takes steps to help the customer solve a problem or issue, and consumers who come into the store are more satisfied than those who speak to a representative over the phone. Customers using an app also have significantly higher scores when they think they’re interacting with an actual person, rather than an automated system. 

“Not only are carriers using them, they’re responsive and adding the human touch element into it,” Cunningham says of the overall success of the channels. “Personalized assistance via phone, app and face-to-face are still critical to customer satisfaction.”

With personalization tied to higher satisfaction, wireless carriers should strive to understand and recognize customers’ needs across all channels, and learn to respond to issues quickly. “[Carriers need to be] making sure in all channels that they’re synced up,” Cunningham says. “We’re seeing improvements in that area.”