The Retail Consumer Report Sponsored by RightNow 2011 RightNow Technologies. All rights reserved. RightNow and RightNow logo are trademarks of RightNow Technologies Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Bring Back Unhappy Customers via Social Media Research shows that when consumers have a bad experience, they will not come back. And now, more than ever, unhappy consumers are turning to the social web to share their complaints. However, retailers have an opportunity to fight back and use social media to turn unhappy customers into brand advocates. The Retail Consumer Report, commissioned by RightNow and conducted online by Harris Interactive in January 2011 among 1,605 online U.S. adults who shopped online during the most recent holiday season, provides a pulse check of the current state of customer experiences. Specifically, how retailers are using social media to win back customers and drive buying decisions. 2
Bring Back Unhappy Customers via Social Media How do retailers respond $$$ when consumers post negative reviews on social networking sites such as Citysearch, Facebook, Twitter and Yelp. 68% of consumers who posted a complaint or negative review on a social networking site after a negative holiday shopping experience were contacted by the retailer Following that contact; 34% 33% 18% deleted their original negative review turned around and posted a positive review became a loyal customer and bought more 32% of consumers who posted a complaint or negative review on a social networking or ratings/reviews site after a negative holiday shopping experience were ignored 61% would have been shocked if the retailer responded 3
Unhappy Customers Can Be Won Back via Social Media 68% of consumers who posted a complaint or negative review on a social networking or ratings/reviews site after a negative holiday shopping experience got a response from the retailer. Of those, 18% turned into loyal customers and bought more. Paying attention to consumer s negative comments on social media can make a big difference. By listening and proactively responding on the social web, retailer have a chance to turn disgruntled customers into social advocates. The survey found that, of those who received a reply in response to their negative review: 33% turned around and posted a positive review. 34% deleted their original negative review. However, consumer s have fairly low expectations that retailers will respond to their negative posts. Of the 32% of consumers that did not receive a response to their negative review from the retailer, the survey confirmed: 61% of consumers would be shocked if a retailer responded to their negative comment on the social web. Great Customer Service Drives Buying Decisions A full half of consumers cited great customer service and/or a previous positive experience as influencing their decision to buy from a specific online retailer. The data underscores that customer experiences shape consumers decision to buy or not to buy from a specific retailer. For example, after a positive shopping experience, 31% of consumers purchased more from the retailer. Social advocacy can also help drive sales, the survey found: Nearly a third of consumers researched what customers said on social networking and reviews websites while shopping online. On the flip side, poor customer experiences can stop consumers in their tracks and kill a potential sale. The survey found, after a negative holiday shopping experience with an online retailer: 21% of consumers decided not to buy anything from the retailer. 68% of consumers who posted a complaint or negative review on a social networking after a negative holiday shopping experience got a response from a retailer. Of those: 18% 33% turned into loyal customers turned around and posted a positive review 50% of consumers say great customer service/experience influences their decision to buy from a specific online retailer After a positive shopping experience, 31% purchased more from the retailer 28% of consumers looking for information or support with online shopping researched what other customers said on social networking and reviews websites 4
Happy Customer = Brand Advocate For those consumers that had a positive holiday shopping experience with an online retailer during the past holiday shopping season, 21% recommended the retailer to friends. 13% posted a positive online review about the retailer. To support consumer brand advocacy, it is imperative that retailers ensure the information on their website is accurate and consistent. The survey found that 38 percent of consumers turned to the retailer s website for information or support with online shopping. However, one of the top frustrations consumers had when shopping online was a lack of consistent information from retailers. Specifically, 22 percent of consumers were frustrated by information that was inconsistent between the retailer s website and customer service agents. 21% of consumers that have great customer experiences recommend the retailer to friends For further research on how customer experiences impact the bottom line including that 85% of consumers said they would be willing to pay anywhere between 5-25% over the standard price to ensure a superior customer experience check out the Customer Experience Impact Report 2010. Our solutions: Be social with us: RightNow.com Twitter Facebook YouTube LinkedIn RightNow Blog 5
ABOUT RIGHTNOW RightNow is helping rid the world of bad experiences one consumer interaction at a time, eight million times a day. RightNow CX, the customer experience suite, helps organizations deliver exceptional customer experiences across the web, social networks and contact centers, all delivered via the cloud. With more than ten billion customer interactions delivered, RightNow is the customer experience fabric for nearly 2,000 organizations around the globe. To learn more about RightNow, go to www.rightnow.com. RightNow is a registered trademark of RightNow Technologies, Inc. NASDAQ is a registered trademark of The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC. METHODOLOGY This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of RightNow Technologies, Inc. via its Quick Query omnibus product between January 25-27, 2011 among 2,516 adults (aged 18 and older), of whom: 1,605 shopped online during the most recent holiday season (defined as the period between Halloween and New Year s); 1,556 had positive experiences with online retailers; and 898 had negative experiences with online retailers. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Data are weighted to be representative of the national population of online adults. All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words margin of error as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. 6