By Ernan Roman, ERDM Corp

Chevron CEO and Chairman John S. Watson recently noted, upon his retirement, “The sooner you learn about reading people, listening to others and building relationships, the sooner you will be more effective.” And though Watson was referring to business relationships, this comment should be taken to heart by marketers regarding how they build relationships with customers. Why Brands Need to Care Social Media Today reported that “consumer service interactions via Twitter have increased 250% in the last few years and an estimated 67% of consumers now use social media networks to seek resolution for issues and 88% are less likely to buy from companies who leave complaints in social media unanswered.” This is reiterated by the Deloitte study, The Growing Power of Consumers, in which it was noted, “To increase consumer trust, businesses must engage more closely with [the] consumer… When a consumer reaches out to a company for resolution they want rapid acknowledgment of their interaction and actionable assurance that the company will try to make things right.” And, this is especially true for Millennials. Joe Gagnon, senior vice president and general manager of cloud solutions at Aspect Software commented, “…millennials are more ‘experience-loyal’ than ‘brand-loyal,’ …It’s imperative that businesses adapt their customer service strategies to deliver an interaction strategy that addresses millennial engagement preferences.” Key point to remember: Businesses need to mitigate their risks by monitoring consumer communications. By putting in place the means to track consumer sentiment, companies can identify areas of concern. This is a case of “if you don’t know what’s broken you can’t fix it.”

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