The Evolution of Customer Communication using Social Media

When we first met social media, we all loved all over it.  Positive messages and love abound.  But it seems that the shine is beginning to tarnish a bit and consumers are becoming more brazen in their attacks on companies using social media. 

Opportunistic haters sit on standby waiting for a company to post on their fan wall and then they pounce polluting the comments with an angry vitriol of no relevance to the original post.  They subvert customer service and normal methods of lodging complaints in lieu of a public display of their disgust or dissatisfaction.  These attacks seem directed mostly at larger companies that make a bigger target, but will it be long before the trend filters down?

Sure we all want the opportunity to respond to our critics and certainly respect our customers and their view points; but when does all this negative banter become more like graffiti and less like an  honest dialogue? 

There are the obvious benefits to seeing the complaints and having the opportunity to address them.  You can win over critics with quick responses and strong customer service without question.  However, the negative mob mentality that is occasionally being seen when a company posts about a product packaging or formula change or just a simple post asking their fans to share with their friends is frightening.  Amazon could not post for a month after the pedophile scandal without getting dozens of negative comments bringing the scandal back up. The use of reputation management is common, but this type of consumer behavior cannot be contradicted or overcome without all hands on deck and serious dedication to social media communication. Even then companies need to employ the most skilled of communicators to engage angry consumers.

We found a few articles discussing consumer negativity and social media, and while they provide no solution for addressing a band of flamers posting on your page, their insight is helpful.

http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/7300-poor-customer-service-leads-to-more-complaints-on-social-media-survey

http://www.customerthink.com/blog/4_fight_back_tips_against_your_customers_social_media_attack

http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-marketing-articles/does-reputation-management-really-help-protect-companies-from-harmful-media-4490451.html

We’re interested in your thoughts, please share a comment.

 

Comments

[Eric Eddler]

Many companies are not fully aware of the importance of their online reputation. What other people say about a company can dictate that company's success or failure. With the internet comes another medium for people to share opinions about a business. For this reason, good reputation management companies are necessary to have a positive presence online.