Facebook, the golden platform of the social media world, seems invincible but appearances can be deceiving. The company recently announced that 750,000 or three quarters of a billion people had signed up to use the service. Does customer satisfaction matter when that many people are flocking to a business without a viable competitor?
The ACSI E-Business Report released today scores Facebook at 66 out of a possible 100 points. Only 14 other sites of the 226 private-sector companies measured by the ACSI have scores that tie or fall below Facebook's. The businesses that score lower are mostly airlines, cable companies, and electric utilities.
Customers have shown that they are willing to suffer through a poor user experience in order to enjoy the benefits Facebook provides. The $64,000 question is whether they will continue with the platform when a strong competitor enters the market. Early indicators show that they won't.
Google+ is less than a month old, still in field trial, and has already acquired ~ 10,000,000 members by some estimates. It took Facebook almost two years to reach that benchmark. Google+ has the advantage of a road paved by Facebook, but there is another factor at play. While Facebook is trolling along the bottom of the satisfaction curve at 66, Google is a leader with a score of 83.
"We don't know yet how Google+ will fare, but what we do know is that Google is one of the highest-scoring companies in the ACSI and Facebook is one of the lowest," said Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results. "An existing dominance of market share like Facebook has is no longer a safety net for a company that is not providing a superior customer experience."
What does this mean for companies using social networks to build a community?
It's business as usual for the companies that are investing in customer relationships instead of platforms. But, for those building a social presence contingent on specific platforms, it could be catastrophic. The transitional state of the social channel requires a flexible strategy that focuses on customers. When customers are actively involved in a company's community, they are more likely to stay in touch when they change platforms.
It is critical that businesses embracing their social side keep their eye on the customers. Social media, as a whole, doesn't fare well when it comes to satisfaction. The overall score is 70 making it one of the lowest scoring industries measured by the ACSI. Only airlines, newspapers, and subscription televisions services score lower.
The number of people using the networks show that there is a market searching for a service that doesn't disappoint. Google+ may fill that need. Or, it may be another platform that hasn't been created yet. Keep your strategy flexible so you can adapt to the changing landscape. Your customers, not to mention your business, are depending on you.