Why Social Media Users Are Your Most Valuable Customers

By Rieva Lesonsky

You know social media can help spread the word about your business. But did you know customers who are active on social media are more valuable to your business because of it? That’s one of the findings of the 2012 American Express Global Customer Service Barometer.

While customers in general care more about good customer service than last year, and are willing to spend more money to get it, the stakes are even higher for businesses dealing with social media users. American Express found that people who have used social media for customer service at least once in the last year are willing to spend substantially more (21 percent) with companies they believe provide great service – in contrast with the general population (13 percent more) and those who have not used social media for customer service (11 percent more).

People who use social media for customer service are also much more vocal about customer service experiences, both good and bad.  If they have a positive customer service experience, they’ll tell an average of 42 people about it; in contrast, consumers overall tell an average of 15. For negative experiences, the numbers are even bigger.  People who use social media for customer service tell an average of 53 people about negative experiences; in contrast, the average user tells 24 people.

Consumers who use social media for customer service also have higher expectations for customer service in general. More than 80 percent of them have failed to complete a planned purchase because of a poor service experience, compared to 55 percent of consumers overall.

In addition, consumers who use social media for customer service are more likely to

Why do consumers use social media for customer service? The most popular social reasons were:

1. Seeking an actual response from a company about a service issue – 50 percent
2. Praising a company for a great service experience – 48 percent
3. Sharing information about your service experience with a wider audience – 47 percent Venting frustration about a poor service experience – 46 percent
4. Asking other users how to have better service experiences – 43 percent

Clearly, using social media for customer service can have a big effect on your business—both positive and negative. If you find customers reaching out to you this way, be sure to be responsive to their needs, because you can be sure they’ll spread the word—either good or bad.

Image by Flickr user sjcockell (Creative Commons)

This entry was posted on Friday, May 18th, 2012 at 6:00 am and is filed under Business Development, Marketing, Sales Process, sales process, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.


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