3:51 am, October 23, 2011
NEW research reveals that one in five consumers will share bad dealer experiences with their friends on Facebook.
Motors.co.uk has found that only half of consumers who have complained directly to a dealer on Facebook, have received a response.
The age groups most likely to complain about a dealer experience on Facebook are 18-24 year olds with a whopping 36 per cent, followed by 25-34 year olds (29 per cent) and 35-44 year olds (25 per cent).
London is the most active in using social media to share praise and complaints. A third of consumers in the City have shared their good and bad dealer experiences with friends on Facebook, whilst 15 per cent have used Twitter to post complaints.
One in 10 consumers has Tweeted or Facebooked a dealer with a complaint and received a response, whilst three per cent of consumers have received no response.
Phill Jones, commercial director at Motors.co.uk said: ‘It’s good news that when consumers make contact with dealers via social media, about half of them are getting a response – but this could be much improved.
‘Increasingly, unhappy customers are bypassing traditional customer service channels and using Facebook, Twitter and forums to log their complaints. It’s a very public place and because of that, many companies are quicker to act on those complaints than through traditional customer service channels.
‘It is important for dealers to engage with consumers, via social media channels, so they can listen to customer feedback and act swiftly, if necessary. A social media presence provides dealers with a cheap and easy way to resolve issues. Since other Twitter users can see both sides of the conversation and that issues are being resolved, it can also boost the company s reputation online.’
