Retailers Make Hay By Responding to Negative Comments

We all know that “listening” to conversations and comments about our brands on the social Web is very important, which is why social listening tools have become an indispensible part of marketing. But what marketers do with that information is even more important.

In fact, retailers who act on that information can actually regain disgruntled customers loyalty, even converting them to advocates for your brand, a new study from RightNow and conducted by Harris Interactive has found.

Digital technologies have made it far easier for brands and retailers to maintain direct communication with existing customers and unlike traditional forms of media, which tend to send one-way messages, social media enables a two-way dialogue, creating a dynamic brand-to-consumer conversational platform. This invitation to converse creates countless opportunities for brands to listen and gain valuable insight from their customers.

The study, which asked about the recent holiday shopping period, found that 68% of consumers who posted a negative review on a social networking or ratings/reviews site after a poor holiday shopping experience got a response from the retailer.

Social media has opened the door for people to easily post comments and share them with friends, and there is no shortage of chatter.

Here’s a random sampling of posts from a wide range of blogs, news sites, chat room and others, easily found through a Google search:

“A&P was a great store at one time. Excellent meat but over the past 20 years they have slid way downhill and the Pathmarks they boight (sic) were never great but really $uck now….they push the house brand “America’s Choice” which is really sub par and their prices jumped to be more A&P like.”

About Sears:
“My mother did most of our shopping there because of the employee discount!”

About Abercromie & Fitch:

“This store makes me feel fat.”
“The music they play in store is annoying, loud, and obnoxious. WHY do you need to blast it so that my ears are ringing for hours after I leave??”
“Nice large store but the layout upstairs is a little funky. It makes me feel like a lab rat routing around in order to get to my prize of the clearance section upstairs.”
“Are there (sic) clothes horrendously over priced? Yes. Is the advertising ridiculous? Yes. 
Do I find myself occasionally still shopping there? Ugh unfortunately.”

Among consumers who did get a response from the retailer to their negative review, the survey determined:

33% followed up and reposted a positive review
34% deleted their original negative review
18% turned around and became loyal customers and bought more.

Shoppers who post comments or suggestions, particularly negative ones, are not expecting much in return from retailers. Among the third of consumers whose negative review did not get a response, 61% said they would be “shocked” to receive a response to negative feedback.

The survey also found:

*50% indicated that they were influenced to buy from a specific online retailer by great customer service or a previous positive experience with the retailer.
*After a positive shopping experience, 31% purchased more from the retailer.
*Consumers’ buying decisions are influenced by the brand advocacy of fellow consumers on the social web
*28% of consumers researched what customers wrote on social networking and reviews websites, while shopping online.

Among consumers that had a positive shopping experience with an online retailer:
*21% recommended the retailer to friends; and
*13% posted a positive online review about the retailer.
*22 percent of consumers were frustrated by information that was inconsistent between the retailer’s website and customer service agents.

The Retail Consumer Report was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of RightNow Technologies, Inc. from January 25-27, 2011 among 2,516 adults ages 18 and older, of whom, 1,605 shopped online during the most recent holiday season.

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