Preferred Methods of Customer Service [Research]

91% of respondents aware of Facebook as a customer service tool

Have you ever left a comment, complaint or suggestion on a company’s Facebook page or Twitter feed? Customers are doing this more than ever before. Social media has opened another avenue of customer service that never existed before. Beyond social media, there are of course other options, such as email, calling or writing a letter (yes, people still do this). As types of communication evolve, so will customer expectations. Emarketer reported findings of a recent survey which showed the different types of methods customers prefer or have used to provide feedback to companies:

In total, social media made up 51%, which isn’t surprising to me. But I was surprised by the high number of customers who prefer writing letters. It was reported that 27% of those who used social media said they were happy to get a response from a company.

When breaking down this data, there’s a correlation between communication type and age group. The data showed that younger customers had a higher preference for feedback on social networks, while older customers preferred direct contact with companies.

Taking all this information into consideration, it’s important that companies embrace customer service on all social networks (but not forget other channels of course). Companies need to be more proactive in how they respond so customer satisfaction rises. The ultimate goal is to increase customer loyalty and word of mouth about your brand…isn’t it?