Retailers Fail to Respond to Facebook Complaints; Other Sites Matter Though

Several sources, including Huffington Post, cite a Reuters article highlighting a recent study about the percent of Facebook complaints retailers fail to respond to. The study revealed that Kroger responded to the fewest Facebook complaints. Other retailers, such as Wal-Mart and Macy's, responded to some.

Many retailers recognize the importance of responding to Facebook complaints; however, they are currently developing tools and processes making it easier to facilitate communication through social media channels.

Facebook tends to receive the bulk of attention from retailers looking to capitalize on social media to enhance the shopping experience. More than 147 million U.S. consumers visit Facebook.com each month (Source: Quantcast.com). Given that, companies should to find ways to service customer complaints emerging on the popular social media site. Other social media sites receiving notable website traffic exist though. As a result, retail marketers should consider monitoring complaints appearing on social media sites like the following:

• Retail discussion forums (e.g., Weusecoupons.com)
  


• Twitter



• Blogs (e.g., Retaildoc.com)



• Review sites (e.g., Dozenshopping.com)



• FourSquare (e.g., "Macy's Sucks" post via FourSquare)



• YouTube (e.g., "Best Buy Sucks" videos)

Companies should monitor complaints appearing on other social media sites, not just Facebook. Keeping an open dialogue with customers, regardless of the social media platform, will ultimately help mitigate the potential for a complaint to go unresolved.