Customers are turning to social media when they want to talk to brands, may it be for feedback, complaint, or an answer about their product. And waiting for a response, from a question you posted on a brand site a week ago, is one of the most frustrating things to do. This is a common thing nowadays and seems to be getting worse.

Based on the Sprout Social Index released by Sprout Social:

  • At an average, brands are publishing 4 times as many posts as they do reply.
  • Retail is one of the industries which is seeing a decrease in difference while real estate and media are the worst
  • When it comes to response times, education has the quickest while consumer goods and services are the slowest.
  • Despite the small numbers of messages being replied to, the response time is getting quicker which results to more being left unanswered.
  • Customers from Asia send three times as many messages to brands compared to Europe, Africa, and America.
  • The Middle East has the best response rate, but response time is getting longer.

The failure of many brands to establish a fully operational social communication strategy resulted to 5 out of six social messages unanswered. And these poor customer services in the US costs companies $41 billion each year. In addition to this, customers are sending twice more messages that needed a response. But what causes these things to happen?

Industries are not created equal in terms of audience engagement on social media. The largest amount of growth messages falls under the government, internet and technology, and professional services. And out of all the industries the best response rate is utilities and social media is ranked as the worst. While utilities and retail reply to about 1 in 5 messages that require a response, media/entertainment respond to only 1 in 12 of messages. Overall, the response time has increased up to 4% and response rate has dropped by 2.5%.it doesn’t mean that brands are not engaging, but rather they have chosen an imbalanced approach. The imbalanced approach industries are practicing affects not only them but also the consumers.

For better engagement start with 4 solutions:

  • Develop a holistic social customer care strategy
  • Equip yourself with the right tools to execute it
  • Actively listen and provide timely answers
  • Be authentic

Engage with your customers at each level and establish a deeper connection. Make use of the right customer service tools so tasks could be assigned accordingly and the right people can respond. Doing so could make your customers satisfied and will keep on coming back. Furthermore, it will make a greater impact and gain a competitive advantage.