Almost one quarter of Australian consumers will boycott a business based on comments they have read on social networking sites, according to new research from RightNow Technologies.
The survey, conducted by StollzNow Research, discovered that 23% of Australian consumers have boycotted a company after reading a negative comment about how that business treats customers, with 42% saying they were previously a customer of the business.
Additionally, the survey found that 18% of customer post about a bad customer experience on Facebook, with 11% actually joining a Facebook “group” that is designed to oppose that particular business.
The purpose of giving the business a bad review on social networks was mainly to convince others not to do business with them, the survey finds.
But the research also reveals a method for businesses to communicate with their customers, with 60% saying they will welcome contact from a business after having posted a negative comment about it on a social network.
About 66% also said they would welcome any contact from the company after a positive review, while 75% said companies should listen to what people say on social networks about their products and follow up with individual conversations about their products.
Social media is also an opportunity for gaining revenue, the survey found, with over one-third of consumers saying they made a purchase after reading a positive review of that company’s products on a social network.
About 13% said they had entered a conversation with a company through social media and then made a purchase. Additionally, 51% who had seen an advertisement on a social network clicked it, with 25% of those going on to make a purchase.
Telcos receive the highest number of comments on social networks, but receive the most negative feedback at 71%. Travel and leisure companies receive the most positive comments at 73%, with retail stores gaining 15% of posts with 47% positive reviews.
Brett Waters, RightNow Vice President Asia Pacific South, says businesses need to pay attention to the emerging trends in social networking and immediately gain a presence.
“Absolutely they need to both have a presence on there, and to be monitoring the commentary on those social networks.”
“From a customer’s perspective, social networks are just really blossoming and it’s a very good, real-time forum to either promote your product or service, or it could actually detract from your reputation. You have to monitor this content, and we don’t want to see businesses shy away.”
Neil Stollznow, director of Stollznow Research, says the survey reveals how consumers now have more power and how they are willing to use it.
“Social networking means there has been a seismic shift in the power of consumers, and now they can gang up on you. Businesses who are smart will take advantage of that, whereas businesses that are delaying themselves and having meetings about someday getting into this field will fall by the wayside.”
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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