One way to hear honest feedback about your brand is through social listening. Social listening is when your company continually collects and examines what is said, both good and bad, about your company on social media platforms. These social media insights or many times insults, should be a last step for customers to go to express their frustration. Online market research communities, or branded communities are the place where customer should go to express their frustration. In this article we will look at how social listening works, and how communities can reduce the unpleasant comments your brand might receive on social media platforms.
A customer is waiting on hold to find out why she can't login to her online banking. After typing in her details through the keypad she finds herself on hold waiting for a representative to take her call. A minute of waiting no problem, however what ensues next is something much more than she anticipated. 40 minutes and still on hold, and a horrible soundtrack to accompany the experience which is intermittently interrupted to hear, “Your call is important to us. Please hold for an operator to attend to your call.” Around the 20 minute mark she is seething. How can she voice her concern? She wants to be heard, that as a paying customer this is unacceptable. Where will she go? Most likely Twitter. She reduces her screen and pulls up her twitter account and tags the company stating her frustrations in colourful language and emojis to match.
Why do individuals go to social platforms to air their grievances? The short answer is that individuals go there to be heard and for a bit of revenge. By airing grievances online friends, families and strangers can commiserate. As well by putting the complaint online it leaves a permanent record for the company of this instance of failure to meet expectations allowing the customer to enact some form of pain or revenge. So how does a company keep this from happening?
By creating a branded research community you provide the link between your customer and the brand. You are showing the customer that the lines for dialogue are open. When individuals see surveys, and discussions being sent to them on how the company can improve, and then see that the feedback is being used to make a more enjoyable experience, the customer can't help but feel happy. When a problem such as an unusual wait time on the phone happens, they can go to the community and share their frustration with a community manager and know that they were heard.
While social listening is important we believe that an experience management platform or MROC should be the place where the feedback, especially negative feedback can be aired. If you would like to find out how our MROC software can help avoid unwanted social media comments then please do not hesitate to contact us.
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