Small Business Marketing News
Big Brand Customer Service Falls Short On Twitter
Written by Ken Gaebler
Published: 1/23/2013
A basic tenet of social marketing is to engage with customers who talk about you, but some of the best companies in the United States don't address customer concerns that are voiced on Twitter.
According to a recent study by digital marketing company Acquity Group (NYSE: AQ), 71% of the largest brands in the United States don't respond to customer tweets. In their study, Acquity Group examined 50 of the United States' best-known retailers as defined by Interbrand's Best Retail Brands report.
Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, GameStop and other top brands were evaluated for their multichannel customer service responsiveness. Most brands got a failing grade. Although 90% of the 50 big brands are active on Twitter, Acquity Group reported that only 29% of these brands currently respond to tweets from customers mentioning the retailers' brands.
The lessons for SMB business owners are relatively straightforward. Launching a social marketing strategy requires constant attention and nurturing. Even if you don't have a social strategy, your customers may be talking about you on Twitter, Facebook and other social platforms. If you don't respond, they may assume you don't care.
There are a variety of tools that you can use to monitor your brand on Twitter. For example, Twilert will send you regular e-mail updates of tweets containing your brand, product, service, or keyword. When you see your brand mentioned, you can login to Twitter and respond. By connecting with those who are talking about your brand, you can build connections that can ultimately win you more business and grow your word-of-mouth referrals.
With attention and diligence, your social media interactions will pay off. It sounds simple enough, but, as Acquity Group discovered in their research, even the nation's biggest brands don't seem to get it right.
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