Thursday, November 26, 2009

Each Negative Social Media Comment Costs 30 Customers

Buzz this

Research by Convergys Corp. has shown that a negative customer review on YouTube, Twitter or Facebook can cost a company about 30 customers.

Here’s the math:

Each remark/comment would be viewed by an average of 45 people and about two-third of them would avoid the brand that was being criticized (45 x 2/3 = 30 customers).

We saw how social media has transformed the way we communicate and consume information. Marketing is no longer in a company’s full control. It is now largely dependent on what people say about it; especially with the rise of social media.

You can lose but you can also gain!

30 customers are lost when a company gets a negative comment on social sites. But would a company gain 30 customers if it earns a positive comment instead?

I would probably think so. It just highlights the importance of tracking the social media buzz surrounding your brand.

Source: Bloomberg, Stock photo powered by pixmac.