Businesses fail to engage customers on social media

According to the latest survey, 32% of businesses admit they do not take customer queries over social media.

The survey also indicates that just over half believe that social media will surpass the telephone by 2020, according to new survey from Aspect Software

Speaking to 100 business and IT professionals (survey conducted in March 2013 of 100 business and IT decision makers by Aspect Software), the study aimed to find out how respondents saw the position of social media within their organisation, how it is or will be used, and how closely it is integrated with other forms of communication with customers and prospects.

Currently, almost three-quarters of businesses (72%) say that they use social media within their organisation, with a further 8% implementing it over the next 12 months and an additional 16% seriously considering using it in the long term.

“The customer conversation is changing; no more are we restricted to using the telephone when we speak with companies we buy from,” commented Mark King, Senior VP Europe and Africa at Aspect.

“Although it is fair to say that most organisations now recognise that being present on the most popular social media networks is a necessity, as that is where their customers are, it should be much more than just another way of talking about how great your brand is and not developing that conversation.”
 
More than 6 in 10 businesses say that social media does or will have some form of integration with other business processes and communication channels. Respondents were divided when asked whether this was a purely manually driven integration on a strategic level or full technical integration, with 33% and 29% respectively stating this. 28% said that social media is not or will not be integrated at all, and that it stood alone within the business.

King added: “60% of those we asked prioritised pushing out messages and company updates as the primary function of social media, and 32% admit that they do take customer queries, but it is not a one-way channel. With 52% of professionals admitting that they see social media as surpassing the telephone as the main method of customer engagement by 2020, there is this disconnect that needs to be addressed by shifting from broadcast to a dialogue.”

“This will only be achieved by aligning social media with existing metrics and processes proven to work in the contact centre infrastructure in terms of business culture, strategy and technical integration,” he concluded.