Social Media Strategies Expected to Increase

The number of companies that use social media as part of their customer contact strategy will continue to grow, according to Interactive Intelligence.

This is confirmed by a recent strategic analysis from Frost & Sullivan, called “Enterprise Priorities in Europe”, which states that the number of companies in retail that are using social media to provide customer services will increase significantly in the next two years.

Despite the fact that almost 80% of retail companies are currently using social media such as Facebook and Twitter to provide customer services, only 38% of them have integrated this channel into their customer contact strategy. However, this percentage is expected to reach 63% by 2016.

According to the research, the UK will see the highest increase in the number of companies that provide customer service through social media such as Facebook and Twitter in the next two years, from 63% to 79%. Italy will register a slight increase as well, from 62% to 71%, while overall there will be an increase of 4 percentage points, from 63% to 67%.

“By integrating social media in their customer contact strategies, companies will gain a competitive advantage by being closer to their customers’ needs and answering client enquiries faster than through other channels,” said Marcin Grygielski, Territory Manager for Eastern Europe of Interactive Intelligence.

Interactive Intelligence’s all-in-one software platform – Customer Interaction Centre (CIC) – integrates a number of specific features designed to manage any kind of interactions with the end customers.

For more information about Interactive Intelligence, visit their website.