Why Twitter Is Critical to Voice of the Customer Programs

A Little Bird Told Me: 5 Reasons You Need Twitter

I heard it through the grapevine. Rumor has it. Word is out on the street. A little bird told me.

There are many ways you might think of indirect feedback from your customers. You might not have asked them anything in particular, but they’re speaking their minds nonetheless. Social media has become one of the most common outlets for customers (and potential customers) to share their thoughts about your products and services, the competition, and the marketplace in general. And when it comes to capturing, analyzing, interpreting and acting upon those thoughts, I would argue it’s most important to let that little bird tweet.

There are at least five compelling reasons Twitter should be an essential component of your voice of the customer program. In no particular order:

1. Twitter is “open” for anyone to view. Unlike Facebook and LinkedIn, you need not be anyone’s “friend” or “connection” to know what they’re thinking. Twitter is essentially the world’s “bulletin board” for individuals and businesses alike, available for anyone to read, anytime. Furthermore, that information is available and free for your organization to search, aggregate and act upon immediately, for any purpose you value.
2. Tweets reflect that which is front-of-mind for customers, in their own words. Your surveys likely reflect your business’s objectives and priorities, but your customer may have very different concerns, and Twitter shines a light on those concerns. Learn what they care about, what they like about your business, where you might have an opportunity to improve, what they think of your competition, and what is key to earning their loyalty.
3. Twitter provides a simple means for “closing the loop” with customers on both an individual and aggregate level. In its 2015 report “Q&A: The Top 10 Things to Know About Social Media in Voice of the Customer Programs,” Forrester profiled a major American airline that detected, via Twitter, customer dissatisfaction with their onboard music selection. Acting upon this data, the airline used Twitter to announce it was updating its music selection in response to these comments, reaching those who’d been critical directly, in addition to calling attention to its customer service efforts more broadly.
4. If you do not act on Twitter data, others—including potential customers—might. According to The Touch Agency, more than one million people view tweets about customer service every week, and roughly 80% of those tweets are negative or critical in nature. Twitter has become one of the most commonly-used mechanisms for word-of-mouth communication, and left unanswered or unacknowledged, negative comments about your brand could germinate into poor brand perception, lost sales opportunities, decline in revenues and decreased market share. That they are not telling  you what you’re doing wrong doesn’t mean they’re not telling someone. Ignoring this data does a great deal to negate any gains achieved by your voice of the customer program elsewhere.
5. Twitter is essential to gaining a comprehensive, 360-degree view of the customer. It offers a wealth of information about what the marketplace thinks of you, your reputation, your track record, and the many dynamics that continue to influence your brand’s long-term value. Harnessing this data empowers you to perfect customer service, maintain long-term customer loyalty and brand advocacy, and ensure a healthy inflow of revenues.
    

According to the aforementioned Forrester report, only 29% of Customer Experience (CX) professionals incorporate social media feedback into their voice of the customer program. Taking advantage of social media in this manner puts your organization ahead of the game, and Twitter is the most readily available source of such feedback. What is the little bird saying about your brand?

NICE Twitter Analytics is a component of NICE Total Voice of the Customer (NICE Total VOC). Learn more about NICE Total VOC, and how your business can achieve best-in-class understanding of its customers, to ensure they’ll always return happily.