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Companies can no longer ignore the social media when it comes to offering customer service as Indian consumers are increasingly turning to this medium to seek a company’s response.
According to the India findings of the American Express Global Customer Service Barometer 2014, social media is becoming a more common channel for consumers seeking a customer service response. It said seven out of 10 or 71 per cent Indian respondents said they used social media to get a service response, up significantly from 54 per cent in 2012. Among the key reasons cited by consumers was sharing information about their service experience with a broader audience and asking questions of other users about how to get better service or have a better experience with a company.
The Indian respondents also said that companies had improved in terms of their quick response over social media channels about a general enquiry or complaint. Nearly 90 per cent of the respondents who had used social media for customer service enquiries, said they felt companies had improved their response time over social media channels. While 39 per cent said they always got an answer or had their complaint resolved, 52 per cent said it was only some times that they got a response from a company over social media.
By word-of-mouthThe other key findings of the survey showed that a new company’s reputation and positive word-of-mouth were most likely to influence consumers to do business with it. Nearly 33 per cent of the respondents said that a company’s reputation was most likely to get them to try doing business with it, while 22 per cent said they depended on recommendations from family or friends.
Sanjay Rishi, President, American Express, South Asia, said, “Businesses can build advocates by delivering outstanding service, and companies that do this consistently understand that exceptional service is a real competitive advantage. The highly networked Indian customer presents a phenomenal opportunity as he wields a wide sphere of ‘word of mouth’ influence and is also willing to pay a premium to companies providing great service.”
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