Should social media help guide business practices?
Social media is often viewed too analytically, where posts, reviews, and feedback are viewed as nothing more than data points to be logged, or worse, an annoyance to be ignored. I have personally experienced this, both as a customer of and a marketing consultant to businesses with the practice of viewing their customers as nothing more than data points. When companies look at reviews as data points, the responses they give to their customers sound almost robotic and quite ingenuine. Even if the customer appreciates that their concern has been noted or remedied, they can still feel slightly dehumanized. This makes the customer less likely to do business with, or recommend the company again. While this practice isn't ideal, it is all too common.
While the practice of dehumanizing your customer's online feedback isn't ideal, it is much better than ignoring, or being out of touch with your customer's concerns. Social media is an incredible way to receive feedback from your customers. Whether the online comment is a bad review, a heartfelt compliment, or a simple question, it is all feedback on ways to improve your business practices. And help to improve your business should be genuinely appreciated on a human to human level. While positive reviews of the business you work so hard to make perfect feel good and can be helpful in a number of ways, from improved SEO to positive publicity, they are often less useful than negative reviews.
So we've discussed ways of dealing with reviews that are either unideal or a downright mistake. But what is the proper way to address these comments? The truth is, there is no single way to properly address an online review. Though, there are certain ideas to keep in mind when addressing a customer's review that greatly improve your chances of making a positive impression. The most important idea I have learned about addressing reviews and comments is to remember you are speaking to another human being, and they want to be treated as such. I've also realized that when customers reach out digitally they want to feel humanized even more than in a brick and mortar facility, as they have become used to being dehumanized on the web. This practice of getting on the customer's level, makes them feel special, appreciated, and recognized, rather than feeling vaguely manipulated or used.
Troy, you managed to open my eyes to an aspect of social media I hadn't considered. In my Week 3 post, I specifically mentioned that I would use a platform that allowed me to utilize data analytics. As an engineer, data driven decisions are the best path to success. I applied that same philosophy to my future, possible intended use of social media. I will reference your views on the importance of not dehumanizing online feedback's a way to remember that social media is just that, social. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for reading my post and leaving a kind comment. While it is important to stay "real" with your customers, it doesn't mean you can't still use data analytics to its full potential. SEO and demographic data is extremely important, but I wanted to speak about something that is considered less often in my post. But I have to say, in this new world where information is king, staying human is god-like.
DeleteHi Troy,
ReplyDeleteI agree with a lot of your post and appreciate the things you’ve said. I really liked how you said a person can feel dehumanized. I see it often on Facebook when a video or post goes viral, the most “liked” comment under that post is something that someone likes or most of the time dislikes. They express their feelings towards a product or service and ultimately it will effect the business negatively because it is at the top of the post and that is the first thing customers will see when viewing it.
Hello Caitlyn,
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading my post and giving me some feedback, I really appreciate it. I also agree that there are a number of instances where negative reviews are far more damaging than they are helpful. I was trying to reference companies, where the majority of their reviews are positive and on a 5 star system, rather than a like or dislike system. I probably should have used a different picture and been more clear about the situation I was referencing in my post. Negative reviews are definitely best in moderation and are most helpful when referencing a practice that can be altered, improved, or remedied. Reviews that simply state a product was bad, typically aren't very useful, in which case, a positive review would be more helpful. You also don't want too many negative reviews to the point of having a sub-par overall rating. Thank you for getting the discussion rolling Caitlyn, it showed me a number of ways to improve my next post. Have a great weekend!
Regards,
TL
I am really intrigued at how you analyzed the customer experience with an improved SEO and it's very true! I am just learning analytics, and discovering the metrics that are involved, hoping that I can someday improve my own! This is a fascinating perspective this week, Troy!
ReplyDelete