A new study has found that conversations taking place on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook about poor customer experiences are severely harming the reputation of many organisations and negatively impacting the bottom line.
The study, commissioned by RightNow™ Technologies and conducted by StollzNow Research, found that nearly a quarter of online Australians have boycotted an organisation after reading a negative comment on the social web about how that organisation treats its customers. Of those boycotting organisations in this way, 42 percent said they had previously been a customer of the organisation.
The study also revealed that 18 percent of those polled have posted something about
their poor customer experiences on Facebook, 11 percent have actually joined a group on Facebook opposed to the company in questions, while many admitted to twittering and blogging about the company in question, and then sharing the information with family and friends.
Commenting on the survey’s findings, Brett Waters, RightNow’s Vice President of Asia Pac – South, said: “The survey’s finding serve up a stark warning for all organisations, both commercial and public, that ignoring the viral nature of the social web can be detrimental to revenue and popularity.”
However, there is some positive news for businesses on the receiving end of the complaints, with 60 percent of those surveyed said that if the posted a negative comment about an organisation they would welcome contact from the organisation to resolve the issue.
Waters has advised businesses to take a considered approach when dealing with such complains.
“They (organisations) must monitor conversations so they can learn the where, when and how of positively influencing badvocates and fostering further loyalty among advocates.”
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