13 Dec 2011

Customers Know What They Want From Brands On Social Media, But Marketers Disagree [STUDY]



By Shea Bennett at AllTwitter:
A pair of studies from the Chief Marketing Officer Council and social technology firm Lithium has revealed that what customers want from their interactions with brands on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, and what the brands themselves think their customers want, or are prepared to give, is often very different.
The CMO Council surveyed more than 1,300 customers from around the world and discovered that some 67 percent followed or Liked brands to receive discounts and special offers. In the multiple-choice study, 65 percent said that they connected with brands so they access games or competitions, and 60 percent so they could connect with other customers.
But when the same survey was pitched to 120 chief marketing officers (CMOs), the results were polar opposites.
Incredibly, just 33 percent of the CMOs believed that their social media fans were looking for any kind of incentive or reward, and only 27 percent felt that their customers were expecting exclusive savings or experiences.
Only one in ten of the brands surveyed said that social media was a top three priority, with 67 percent stating a lack of time and resources as the reason behind their less-than-stellar effort. But when you consider that 72 percent of the customers surveyed use social media to connect with brands, and 80 percent are more likely to try a product based on a friend’s recommendation on a social media platform, there’s really no excuse. At best, it’s nonchalance; at worst, a commercial strategy of disastrous proportions.
Lithium have supported their findings with this infographic, which takes a look at the digital divide between brands and customers within social media.

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