Common thinking would suggest that many organizations should flock towards social media analytics tools in something akin to the great gold rushes of the 19th century across America. While this is not an unwise choice I would like to play devil’s advocate for just one moment; do we need to track what customers are saying online if we get the original experience spot on?
Many organizations are scared by the looming colossus that is the internet and the many stories about share prices being slashed overnight after a viral YouTube video has taken off. But if the experience wasn’t broken in the first place, or you have already engaged a customer about the experience is this something you should be worried about? There is some logic to the argument that by surveying every customer after an interaction, you have given them the portal in which to praise or criticise the experience they have had, without heading online. Indeed this type of feedback is in a far more closed and controlled environment, and as an organization you are in a position to leverage those insights whether it be through customer recovery or employee praise.
But is this simplifying the issue? Ultimately some customers will not respond to surveys, they will not want to engage with you about a negative experience and will want to damage the company as much as possible. This is regardless of how good an experience you can offer, in organizations with thousands and millions of customer not every interaction will be as the company wants/hope. This is perhaps why social media analytics still have a part to play.
I would also go one step further and say that social media analytics need not be seen just as a damage limitation tool, to quickly highlight the next Dave Carroll. Social analytics should be seen as a solution to promote success within the business, leverage positive word of mouth and a solution to highlight sales opportunities. With advanced analytics engines organizations can highlight all of these, and utilize social media to really enhance both customer experience and employee engagement.
So, to answer the question posed in the title, social media analytics or direct feedback? Well the answer lies with both, both have their place within Voice of the Customer solutions, and neither can be ignored. To really understand the customer experience, and operationalize VoC within your organization, no business should be without either.
Tom Lynam
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