Friday, May 18, 2012
In the past few years, social media has taken off, and many businesses are beginning to take advantage of the far-reaching platform to enhance the customer experience.
Small and medium sized enterprises have turned to Facebook for customer acquisition, with 36 percent of business using the social network to increase sales, according to BaseKit.
The social media giant has overtaken traditional forms of customer acquisition, such as the Yellow Pages, used by 27 percent of SMEs polled, and print advertising, which 21 percent of firms polled use. Not far behind is Twitter at 17 percent.
Social media is also changing the way customer support is conducted, according to Oracle.
The study revealed that more than half of Twitter users expect a personal response within two hours of tweeting a question or complaint, and 51 percent of Facebook users expect a same-day response to questions or complaints posted to the site.
"Whether the customer visits the company's commerce site or social media page, there must be a clear link to a customer service person that is informed and able to help," said Mike Webster, senior vice president and general manager of Oracle Retail.
