Seven good reasons why banks should engage in social media

More than 300 consumers who are active Internet users participated in a survey conducted by the Society for New Communciations Research, focusing on how customer care influences brand reputation given the widespread adoption of social media.  Top findings include:

•    59.1% of respondents use social media to “vent” about a customer care experience
•    72.2% of respondents research companies’ customer care online prior to purchasing products and services at least sometimes
•    84% of respondents consider the quality of customer care at least sometimes in their decision to do business with a company
•    74% choose companies/brands based on others’ customer care experiences shared online
•    84% of respondents consider the quality of customer care in their decision to do business with a company at least sometimes
•    81% believe that blogs, online rating systems and discussion forums can give consumers a greater voice regarding customer care, but less than 33% believe that businesses take customers’ opinions seriously
•    Search engines are the most valuable online tools for this research, according to respondents. Those rated of no value include micro-blogging sites like Twitter or Pownce (39%), YouTube (27%) and social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace (22%)