Are You Ignoring Your Online Queries?

A report has shown that just 15% of the UK’s leading companies respond to tweets.

The report, by Webhelp UK, also revealed that 64% of businesses took longer than an hour to respond.

The report (which also polled more than 2,000 UK adults) found this lack of meaningful social media engagement means just 10% of people use Facebook, Twitter or mobile apps to make complaints.

Close to two-thirds (62%) of customers said they preferred to make formal complaints by email, while, despite the opportunity to vent online, 46% said they would rather pick up the phone to share their frustrations.

When it comes to general enquiries, more than three-quarters of people would rather communicate by phone; however, this falls to 69% for under 35s.

One-fifth of people under 44 also said they expected companies to provide them with a webchat facility. Yet just 13% of companies provide this service.

88% of those asked also said they had been frustrated by inconsistent information across channels, pointing to failures in the management of big data, which can be a valuable tool in building profitable customer relations.

“People now expect to be able to contact companies through multiple channels, switching between them at their convenience,” said David Turner, CEO at Webhelp UK. “However, our report suggests while many businesses have developed new channels in response to customer demand, many still fall short of delivering effective customer support through them.”