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DQ News: Is Your Marketing Department Faced With Reality?

According to a recent study from MarketTools, nearly one-fourth (23 percent) of companies provide customer service and assistance to clients via Facebook, while 12 percent turn to Twitter for such activities.

The study goes on to note that while 34 percent of the executives polled reported they were aware of customers utilizing social media to discuss their business and its products and services, fewer than 25 percent of these executives claimed that their businesses “always” get back to these customers.

According to a spokesperson for the company, “Companies are increasingly embracing social media as a way to interact with their customers, though they are missing an opportunity to incorporate this feedback into a voice of the customer program. Organizations that use enterprise feedback management solutions are able to analyze feedback gathered through social media channels, along with feedback gathered through more traditional channels, to uncover insights to help improve business processes that lead to higher overall customer satisfaction.”

Some other numbers from the study note:

• Thirty-three percent of executives report that their businesses have a better focus on utilizing social media as a channel to obtain customer feedback when compared to the same time a year ago;
• As for what parts of their company are using social media, 44 percent cited public relations, 42 percent noted corporate marketing, while 34 percent stated product marketing and customer service/support;
• For the nearly 70 percent of companies sporting an active presence through social media, 48 percent are active on Facebook, 24 percent on Twitter, and 17 percent through their own business blog;
• Twenty-two percent reported that their company’s CEO oftentimes participates in social media on behalf of the business. Facebook is the social media channel of choice, used by 68 percent of the CEO’s, followed by 44 percent that participate through the company blog, and 35 percent who are active via Twitter.

If your company has been slow to the switch when it comes to using social media through your marketing efforts to interact with customers, keep a few things in mind:

• Active usage of social media allows you to interact with customers and potential customers in real-time. Whether it is a product/service question, a concern, or even a complaint, there is no replacing the immediacy by which social media venues provide;
• More and more consumers are using social media to obtain information on products and services, purchase items online and talk about their experiences. It only makes sense to have a social media presence so that your business can stay one step ahead of the competition;
• While some business leaders feel that social media is a fad, all signs point to it being around for the foreseeable future. To disregard SM now is only allowing your company the opportunity to fall further behind the competition, competition that in many cases are using social media on a daily basis to reach out for more business.

Whether it is to promote products and/or services online, respond to questions and concerns about your business or just follow the industry tides to see where you need to be, using social media in your company’s marketing efforts is more important than ever.

Are you a social or anti-social marketer?

About the Author: Dave Thomas, who covers among other subjects’ background checks, writes extensively for Business.com, an online resource destination for businesses of all sizes to research, find, and compare the products and services they need to run their businesses.

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Photo Credit:  CarbonNYC

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