The Cold Shoulder: Why Ignoring Social Media Complaints Isn't Such a Hot Idea

It's amazing that even in today’s social media -savvy business environment, there are still big companies out there which fail to engage with their customers... particularly those who are frustrated or unhappy. 

A variety of research shows ignoring those customers is the worst possible strategy.
One extremely significant example (if you haven't heard of this already) is “United Breaks Guitars, But not the Silence.” This infamous incident took place in 2008 when a tweet was recently sent to United Airlines by a customer via social media, but was never answered (Dave Carroll of the Sons of Maxwell band claimed United Airlines broke his $3,500 guitar while traveling from Halifax to Nebraska).

There was no response, zero acknowledgement of the post, or anything so much as a direct message re-directing the customer's complaint... even though multiple tweets were posted in association with the United Airlines name. After publicizing his negative experience online for an entire year using social media, the company's failure to respond to Carroll reportedly resulted in astronomical damage to the United Airlines brand... as in, a whopping $180 million in lost business.

For a multitude of understandable reasons many companies choose not to engage with complainers like Dave Carroll mainly because they think there's no upside to such conversations, they don't feel they can actually fix the problem(s) at hand, or because they refuse to spend any money in order to alleviate the situation. A recent survey shows 4 out of 5 consumer complaints are currently ignored, and here are some noteworthy facts about what can happen as a result:

- 82% of those surveyed admit they will stop doing business with a company based on just one poor experience.

- About 89% of consumers reportedly began doing business with a competitor following poor customer service or a less than favorable experience with a company.

- 21% of complaints which receive a response tend to have a more optimistic attitude upon being recognized.

- 46% of customers report feeling pleased, merely by seeing/reading a response regarding their complaint(s).

- 22% of people actually post a positive comment about a company or brand after receiving some type of acknowledgement of their publicized concern(s).

Keeping Your Current Customers
The drive to maintain and acquire new customers has always been paired with the mantra, “It is much more profitable to keep an existing customer than to go looking for a new one.” Although this seems to be wise advice, it's unfortunately often ignored in practice. 

Businesses which fail to respond to complaints in a timely manner can risk losing the same customers they've spent large sums of money to earn them in the first place. In fact, statistics show even when the problem is no longer fixable, a simple apology can still turn a negative attitude into a positive one. 

If your brand or company could use some assistance with effective reputation management CLICK HERE to learn more about our services NOW. 

Here's to spreading a warm message when it comes to your brand, instead of giving the cold shoulder!
--The PR Whores Online Reputation Management Staff