Australian business has embraced social media as a customer service channel. The only problem is consumers haven’t been so quick off the mark, leaving a resource disparity which could quickly become an issue for enterprises.
The findings are in a new report from customer service consulting firm Fifth Quadrant.
If found the contrast between business having a social media channel, and its use by consumers is quite dramatic: two thirds of organisations are active in social media, while only one third of customers think to use it as a means of resolving a customer service issue.
Despite Twitter’s seeming popularity, customers surveyed rarely think to use it as a means of engaging with an organisation. The most popular method of customer engagement is Facebook, followed by specific online communities and forums.
However, from the enterprise perspective, companies engaged in social media are putting the majority of their resources into Twitter. This effectively means customers and companies are looking for each other in the wrong places.
According to the research, the reason more customers won’t engage in social media is because of a perception social media lacks the personal touch. They’re also worried about the openness of social media as a channel, potentially leading to security issues.
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