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October 03, 2012

Social Media Empowers the Customer Voice

By Amanda Ciccatelli, TMCnet Web Editor

Customers today have a big voice thanks to the Web. This voice is empowering customers more than ever before, however; most companies are overwhelmed by social media. So, they are lagging behind in embracing the empowerment in order to satisfy their customers.  



In an ITEXPO (News - Alert) session “Making Social Media Actionable through Real-time Response, Escalation and Closure” John Norris, director of Benbria Corporation, urges providers to reengage themselves if they cannot fix the dissatisfaction of customers.

“The brands that respond in a timely manner are going to benefit greatly from this,” he explained. “Customers want to be appreciated and know that a company values their business.”

These days, the Z generation (15-19 years old) wants an immediate response to whatever they are doing. This generation is growing and becoming a key target, so companies must reengage themselves to cater to this social media savvy generation.

Companies that are responding to social media are seeing a major improvement in their business; however there are some challenges of social media. Since a lot of information is getting out to the field from social media, it can be very challenging to scale across that the entire space, according to Norris.

Let’s face it, companies only have so much money, so they must pick and chose priority problems to address, and social media adds to the flood of customer data to address in a timely manner. According to Norris, about half of companies are unprepared to deal with this issue because nobody can anticipate the huge empowerment of customers through social media.

Additionally, other challenges of moving forward with social media include budget, complexity, and the ability to take action.

“There different cultures and generations of being connected, and customers want the connection to be immediate and true. So, the entire model of consumer-provider relationships is changing drastically,” said Norris.

To help overcome these challenges companies face with social media, Benbria’s On-the-Spot Guest Engagement solution provides engagement, accountability, listening, and visibility. Every aspect of Benbria’s solution works to help companies improve customer experience and ultimately drive revenue.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO Austin 2012, happening now in Austin, TX.  Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO. Follow us on Twitter.




Edited by Brooke Neuman
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