We live in a social media era, in which we have twitter, facebook, instagram, and other social networking sites (SNS). In class, I learned how powerful SNS are and how companies often use these sites to interact with customers (and build relationship! That’s what marketing is about, right?). For instance, a complaint addressed through twitter is more likely to be resolved faster; I believe one of the main reasons is that other people can see that post which would damage the brand of the company. On the other hand, it could also enhance a company’s reputation if a customer commends or say positive things about it. Simply put, it is a double-edged sword for the company. However, marketers need to be careful since, psychologically, people tend to remember and put more emphasis on the negative things.
The report articulates that most people complain about their traveling experience through phone calls; and the least tool used would be social media. (I thought social media is an effective way to get the best customer service?) Phone calls are dominated by people of 35 years old+, whereas social media is used by younger people (18 years – 35 years old). It’s obvious, isn’t it?
Marketers can use this kind of data for a more precise marketing strategy. Younger generation, obviously, are more active in using SNS and as the older generation would be ‘replaced’, more people are going to keep using SNS. In my opinion, since SNS is one of the best ways for people to interact with others (family, friends, and even companies) easily, there will be a growing number of SNS users (given that SNS are constantly improving their services). Additionally, not only SNS, people who are using “online/mobile search” is also dominated by younger generation (and will keep increasing). This increases the importance of digital marketing.
