A new report from the CMO Council asks customers and marketers what it means when a customer ‘likes’ a brand online. Not surprisingly, these two groups had somewhat different ideas about why customers choose to ‘like’ or engage with a brand online.
What do customers think it means when they “like” a brand on Facebook?
- 49% said they “like” a brand because they are already loyal customers
- 46% want to track news on the brand and products
- 46% are looking for incentives or rewards for engaging with the brand
- 43% are looking for special savings or events
- 30% ‘like’ a brand on Facebook because the content is agreeable
What marketers think a customer’s “like” or engagement with a brand means:
- 57% of marketers thought a “like” meant the content on the site was agreeable
- 41% thought it meant customers wanted to be heard
- 40% thought it meant customers want to track news on the brand or product
- 33% of marketers said they thought customers were looking for incentives or rewards for their “like”
- only 24% of marketers thought that when a consumer “likes” a company that it means they are also a loyal customer
The survey also asked respondents about customer service online. One-third of respondents (33%) will post on a brand’s Facebook page when they need to communicate with the brand (just 12% will tweet). When connecting with a brand online for customer service issues, 47% (nearly half) of respondents expect a response within 24 hours; 22% expect a response immediately, and 19% expect a response within an hour.
The survey involved 132 senior marketers and more than 1,200 consumers on the subject of social media, and asked each “how and why they are currently using it, what they get out of it, and what they’d like to see it do for them. Click here to see the full study “Variance in the Social Brand Experience“.
