Less than a fifth of companies have embraced Twitter for customer service

With Twitter expected to serve its 10 billionth tweet last week, just 16 of the UK’s top 100 companies are using the social networking site to chat with customers.

The sidelining of Twitter as an informal communication channel could well be costing them dearly – 20 per cent of ‘tweets’ contain a reference to a product or brand, according to metrics released last week.*

A staggering 50 million tweets are posted everyday, with more and more consumers expecting businesses to have an established Twitter presence. Yet many of the FTSE 100 companies appear to have established Twitter feeds simply to avoid cyber squatters. Despite 57 of the FTSE 100 signing up to Twitter, the study found that almost three-quarters (72 per cent) have not used their account to respond to customer enquiries or comments made about the company.

Phil Stewart

Phil Stewart, director of customer service, Virgin Media Business, said “We have seen Twitter usage skyrocket recently. Some 5 billion tweets have been posted since October alone. With so many people sharing their thoughts online, it’s no surprise that many are talking about companies. Clearly this presents an excellent opportunity for companies to engage with customers, but many are missing out.

“Creating a Twitter account and leaving it dormant or not responding to tweets by your customers is no better than opening a contact centre and not picking up the phone. In fact it is a lot worse as this lack of interaction can be viewed by millions. Companies should respond to customer enquiries and take part in conversations about their brand or industry transparently. It might take a few minutes each day, but this could be time well spent if it helps to strengthen relationships with customers, build links with prospects and take part in the dialogue that is shaping attitudes and responses towards your business.”