Companies definitely are investing more time and resources in social media to address and serve their customers.
A bit of bare-bones analysis of initial survey responses to our SAP*/Social Customer Engagement Index 2012 confirms companies are handling more of their customer service interaction via social media and social networks.
Perhaps that doesn't come as a surprise. But the merits of social media still are a hot topic in discussions groups. One of the most active and at times contentious discussions in our Social Media Today group on Linkedin was sparked by this question: "I have decided that social media should be about communicating and not monetizing because thinking ROI sucks out the fun for us and for participants. Am I making a mistake with this logic?"
About the survey: responses have been rolling in but there's still time to fill it out. It should take only 10 minutes or so and the more than respond, the greater the validity. The results will be benchmarked against two previous surveys and we'll share what we find in an e-report, webinars and our own social media channels.
So, to cherry-pick the survey analysis, here are a few findings from those who have responded so far compared with our last survey conducted in December 2010.
What percentage of customer service issues/requests are being handled via online social media and social networks?
There's a definite trend toward resolving more issues via social. Whereas about 80 percent of the respondents to the last survey reported their organizations handling 10 percent or less of these issues via social, that has dropped to about 62 percent. Meanwhile, the percentage of those handling 11-20 percent of these issues via social has risen to more than 17 percent from less than 10 percent a year and a half ago.
Does your Organization enable customers to engage with your service via mobile device?
More are jumping on this bandwagon. The "yes" and "no" answers are about evenly split so far, or 42.1 percent yes and 42.7 percent no. In December 2010 the response was 27.8 percent year, 51.9 percent no.
There's plenty more where that came from, once the project ends. So, if you are like us and want to learn more about the way companies provide customer service in 2012 using the latest technologies and best practices, fill out the survey and pass it on.
We are also interested in hearing from you if you have a success story you'd like to share about how your company or customer-support organization is using social media for better collaboration, customer service or to reinforce loyalty. Contact Caitlin Hinrichs if you have a case study to share. This will contribute to a more valuable report and you'll enjoy the visibility as a social media leader.
* A special thanks to SAP for its sponsorship.