Elements of the Consumer Experience on Social Media

Many different factors influence consumer activity. Among them you can find your friends’ posts and the companies you follow on social media.

The study made by Market Force found that 81% of U.S. consumers are influenced by their friends’ social media posts, while a comparable 78% are influenced by vendors’ posts, suggesting that company-driven social media content is surprisingly powerful in driving purchase decisions.

More than 12,000 consumers were surveyed by Market Force, a worldwide leader in customer intelligence solutions, in an effort to help better understand how individuals interact with retail, restaurant, travel, entertainment and financial businesses on social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ in both North America and Europe.

In the U.S., consumers are more likely to be immersed in social media, with 95% of U.S. consumers indicating that they have a Facebook account and 62% that they have a Twitter account. As well, all of the U.S. consumers surveyed said that they use some form of social media, compared to 14% of UK consumers who said that they do not use social media at all.

For those who do use social media, it’s in an effort to collect information and opinions about restaurants, retailers and other companies from their online networks. In the United States, 60% said they gather insights on companies from their friends’ social media posts. In the UK, about half said they do. Additionally, social media users use the platforms to post information about their experiences with businesses — with one in 10 having posted something negative.    

For companies that may use incentives in their social media activity — it’s working. Of the 75% of U.S. consumers and 65% of UK consumers who regularly “like” a company’s Facebook page or the 46% who follow them on Twitter, a majority do so to take advantage of incentives or discounts provided in return.  

American consumers “like” restaurant pages (86%) on Facebook more than any other category, with entertainment second-most popular (76%) and retail ranking third (75%). Meanwhile, UK consumers are more prone to “like” entertainment business pages (76%), followed by retail (73%) and then restaurant pages (71%).

On Twitter, entertainment-oriented businesses are the most followed. 81% of U.S. and UK consumers indicated that they follow companies in that category, followed by 65% who follow retail companies and 53% who follow restaurants.

Of course, while this study sheds some light on what consumers like and the motives behind their social media activity, what’s most important is that companies recognize the massive opportunity in front of them. With a majority of U.S. and UK consumers voluntarily following companies online, it’s time for local and global businesses to connect with their patrons and prospective customers.

Regardless of what they are saying, businesses need to listen and use the feedback to improve the customer experience, whether it’s online or in person. Customers have a lot of choices when it comes to where to shop, what to buy and by whom they choose to be influenced. In return, companies have a responsibility to deliver the best customer experience to improve the likelihood that customers not only come back, but influence others about their experience.

Want to make your customers more loyal? Provide a superior customer experience. According to research by Monetate, 73% of consumers would buy again from a retailer if they had a superior customer experience, while 89% would shun a business if they had a bad experience.

As in general protocol these days, it summarized its results in an infographic. While excellent customer experience is in the eye of the beholder, we can generally agree on some actions that can help you meet and surpass customer expectations, including (but not limited to)

Responding in a timely manner to user comments — positive and negative

Validating experiences — good and bad

Being available and helpful, across platforms, online and offline

Treating your customers like people, not potential revenue

Being personable, authentic and transparent

We all know what it feels like to be treated well and we know what it’s like to be treated as if we don’t matter. Building meaningful relationships with customers takes more than just being where they are — it requires that you get to know them and understand what they want and being able to deliver it accordingly.

References:

1. Peacock M. Influence, Incentives, Investment: Elements of the Consumer Experience on Social Media // [Electronic recourse] Access mode: http://www.cmswire.com/cms/customer-experience/influence-incentives-investment-elements-of-the-consumer-experience-on-social-media-015392.php

2. At the Root of Your Customer Intelligence // [Electronic recourse] Access mode: http://www.marketforce.com/

3. Peacock M. 73% of Consumers Wooed by Superior Customer Experience // [Electronic recourse] Access mode: http://www.cmswire.com/cms/customer-experience/73-of-consumers-wooed-by-superior-customer-experience-015379.php