Social Media and Customer Service

Customer service 140 characters at a time – the users’ perspective

Ana Isabel Canhoto, Oxford Brookes UniversityMoira Clark, Henley Business School

Canhoto and Clark, 2012

The problem

How should organisations respond when customers’ post brand-related comments on SM?

Canhoto and Clark, 2012

Literature Review

• Satisfaction with response vs. satisfaction with transaction or relationship (Stauss, 2002)

• Disconfirmation paradigm (e.g., Oliver, 1980)• Three dimensions (Johnston 2001):

• Positive vs. negative feedback– Brown et al (2005): Negative feedback driven mostly by

satisfaction w/ product or transaction. Positive feedback mostly influenced by the customers’ identification with, and commitment to, the firm (over and above satisfaction)

Canhoto and Clark, 2012

Approach

• Exploratory• Data collection:– SM– Snowball

Canhoto and Clark, 2012

Some of the companies mentioned

Canhoto and Clark, 2012

Findings

Canhoto and Clark, 2012

Negative PositiveInteraction:-Consistency-Human Touch

Outcome:-Speed of reply / problem solving-…vs. alternative channels

Access:-Integration with other channels

Outcome:-Listening-Care

Interaction:- Tone of voice

Conclusions and Implications• Users expect companies to be present on SM,

including non-business platforms (e.g., Facebook)• Users pull firms into SM; Absence is quickly noticed

• Companies expected to use the various SM platforms efficiently, working around their limitations.• Listening vs. conversation tools• Multichannel customer management structure

• Communication effectiveness• Match how sender uses the media with preferences

of the receiver (Danaher & Rossiter, 2011).• Etiquette - e.g., hashtags, tags, etc.

Canhoto and Clark, 2012

Conclusions and Implications

• Strategic use of SM by customers• Most effective channel to communicate with the

firm; Receiving extra service after praising firm• Prioritisation of SM creates perverse incentives

and may lead to counter-productive behaviours from customers (Schrage, 2011)

• eWoM as firmly established public behaviour• Research gap: eWoM as source of customer

insight or an opportunity for service recovery; specifically considering the high visibility of the interactions and the social benefits of eWoM

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Conclusions and Implications• Ambiguous role of SM as communications channel• Not owned or controlled by the firm => Mattila and Wirtz

(2004): suitable to vent frustration• Highly interactive => Mattila and Wirtz (2004): best to seek

redress• Research gap: Do customers perceive SM as remote or

interactive channel? Effect on behaviour and expectations?• Highly visible exchanges• Attempt to use for firm’s advantage - e.g., retweeting• May be seen as spam (Bajenaru, 2010) or attempt to bribe

opinion leaders (Mason, 2008)• Research gap: Do SM users appreciate or resent the

dissemination of their comments?

Canhoto and Clark, 2012

Ana Isabel CanhotoOxford Brookes Universitywww.anacanhoto.com@[email protected]

Moira ClarkHenley Business School [email protected]@henley.reading.ac.uk

Customer service 140 characters at a time – the users’ perspective

Canhoto and Clark, 2012

References• Bajenaru, A. (2010). The Art and Science of Word-of-Mouth and Electronic Word-of-Mouth. Annals

of the Oradea University - Fascicle of Management and Technological Engineering, IX(XIX)(1), 4.7-4.16.

• Brown, T. J., Barry, T. E., Dacin, P. A., & Gunst, R. F. (2005). Spreading the Word: Investigating Antecedents of Consumers' Positive Word-of-Mouth Intentions and Behaviors in a Retailing Context. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 33(2), 123-138.

• Danaher, P. J., & Rossiter, J. R. (2011). Comparing perceptions of marketing communication channels. European Journal of Marketing, 45(1/2), 6-42.

• Johnston, R. (2001). Linking complaint management to profit. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 12(1), 60-66.

• Mason, R. B. (2008). Word of mouth as a promotional tool for turbulent markets. Journal of Marketing Communications, 14(3).

• Mattila, A. S., & Wirtz, J. (2004). Consumer complaining to firms: the determinants of channel choice. Journal of Services Marketing, 18(2), 147-155.

• Oliver, R. (1980). A Cognitive Model of the Antecedents and Consequences of Satisfaction Decisions. Journal of Marketing Research, 17(4), 460-469.

• Schrage, M. (2011, November). A Better Way to Handle Publicly Tweeted Complaints. Harvard Business Review.

• Stauss, B. (2002). The Dimensions of Complaint Satisfaction: Process and Outcome Complaint Satisfaction Versus Cold Fact and Warm Act Complaint Satisfaction”. Managing Service Quality, 12(3), 173- 183.

Canhoto and Clark, 2012