A shocking fact, the brands lose 88% of the feedback generated by their local customers. This implies that practically all the opportunities to generate engagement with their clients fall into the void. This is reflected in the latest study published by Venuelabs in collaboration with the Location Based Marketing Association (LBMA) on the importance of having a social communication strategy at the local level:
Companies are not sufficiently trained to monitor the interactions of their customers at the local level. Every day there are many attempts to communicate with the brand by customers; Which are largely unsuccessful. Brands give an image through the social channels that generates expectations in the clients, which are not fulfilled when it approaches the brand, hoping to interact with it locally.
Last year Venuelabs reported that there has been an unprecedented increase in user engagement, which reached 500%; A trend that will continue in crescendo during this year; Which forces the brands to live up to the circumstances.
The proliferation of smartphones gives customers the ability to communicate at any time and place, which, together with social networks, is a powerful communication tool that they do not hesitate to use. Thus, it is very common for them to check in and share information about where they are, with whom and what they are going to do.
This directly affects shops on the street, such as retailers or fast food restaurants:
- 68% of the complaints registered in the retail sector were on the customer service, by the store staff.
- 52% of the comments received by fast food restaurant brands were about the quality of the food itself.
Users used the main social channels to convey their discomfort, including Facebook, Foursquare or Yellow Pages. Of note is the fact that these brands do have a presence in these networks:
- 93% are on Foursquare
- 2 out of 3 have their Facebook page
- 59% have a profile on Google+
- More than half appear in Yellow Pages
Therefore, they should practice active listening, in order to detect this demand by their clients and attend to it properly; Thereby improving customer satisfaction and taking advantage of the opportunity to promote engagement.