Two-thirds use Twitter to complain

Two-thirds use Twitter to complain
Negative customer experiences spread twice as fast as positive ones

Around two-thirds of customers (65%) now use Twitter to complain to companies rather than a call centre.

The prevalence of social media has meant that negative interactions with a business spread to twice as many people as positive ones, according to customer engagement company The Grass Roots Group.

Customer have realised that the very public and immediate way of complaining via social media can often yield better and swifter results than an angry phone call or letter.

The Grass Roots Group says this trends could be extremely damaging for those companies who do not react in the right way, and result in them losing existing customers as well as alienating new ones.

It adds that responding with the right gesture, however, can increase customer retention rates to a 70%.

“A simple and timely gesture can mean the difference between a customer sticking with you and singing your praises, or shouting about their bad experience all over social media where it will spread like wildfire,” said Vikki Zelkin, head of client services, promotions and incentives at The Grass Roots Group.

“The first step is to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, following up with a timely and unexpected gift to show that you value your customers, making them think twice abut taking their business elsewhere.”