If your social media followers are not satisfied, you have got yourself a problem. This is true for several reasons, but most recently, it means your social media is worse than the rest of the country at keeping your customers happy. According to a brand new survey released by the American Customer Satisfaction Index, U.S household consumers are happier with their social media than ever before.
Last year, social media was one of the lowest rated industries with a score of 71 out of 100. This year, it is a 74, a remarkable 4.2 percent increase. While social media is still ranked in the middle of the industries rated by the index (Americans are pretty darn satisfied with their TV and video players, as well as their credit unions), it beat out subscription TV service and Internet service providers. Even if social media could not beat everyone’s customer service nightmare, Comcast, last year, there still must have been some exceptional changes made by social media platforms and users.
So, how are social media sites appealing to their users this year? David VanAmburg, ACSI’s managing director, told NBC that social media sites are “hitting their stride” by delivering “fresher content” and up-to-the-minute news updates. They have also adjusted well to the mobile scene, and made changes that customers appreciate.
The ACSI, the only national cross-industry measure of customer satisfaction in the United States, uses a scientific data model to develop national indications of happiness. The users they surveyed to create the rating listed their feelings about ease of using sites on different devices, freshness of content, privacy, ease of navigation, variety of services and information, and speed and reliability of video clips.
“Generally speaking, the tide is lifting all boats here. We’re seeing a wave of improvement across the board for these kinds of websites,” says VanAmburg.
These types of measures use a qualitative model to produce these numbers, but this does not mean that the only way to measure customer satisfaction is with numbers. The survey also brings to mind another question: How do you know if your social media followers are satisfied with social media, both the platform itself, and how your brand uses it?
It is an important question, although brands can easily become stuck in the rut of “It’s fine!” and the companion rut of “Yeah, I think they like it…” Now, more than ever, the general population is satisfied with social media platforms, so use that knowledge to dig a little deeper regarding yours in particular.
I have worked with companies who are fans of focus groups and acquiring direct anecdotal evidence to provide direction for their future. Low-budget options for conducting a customer survey include using the free software from SurveyMonkey to easily create a survey and blast it out to your followers. There is also the chance to offer an incentive, like a $25 store credit or free consultation, for feedback on what you want to know.
Customer satisfaction is important. If the people who follow you like social media in general, but are not satisfied with yours, find out why–and fix it!
Image credit: CC by Brian Smith
