Section: Organisational and Strategic Communication
COMPLAINT MANAGEMENT IN SOCIAL MEDIA. HOW COMPANIES DEAL WITH CRITICAL COMMENTS ON FACEBOOK
Inga CRECELIUS, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz
Sabine EINWILLER, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz
Sascha HIMMELREICH, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz
Social Media bear great opportunities for companies’ dialogic communication with their stakeholders. However, due to their openness and accessibility social media also bear risks when individuals use these platforms to complain and vent their anger about a company. Unlike complaints addressed at a sales agent or via email or postal mail, critical comments uttered on social media can potentially be read by a large number of stakeholders, including journalists, who might take up and spread the criticism. This can entail negative consequences for the company, like reputation damage or even a corporate crisis.
Based on theoretical concepts from complaint management (e.g., Stauss & Seidel 2005) and reputation management (e.g., Fombrun, Gardberg, & Sever 2000), the current research aims at analyzing complaints and corporate complaint management on social media, using Facebook as the exemplary application. The research questions addressed the complaint content, critics’ attributes, types of corporate responses to criticism, and the relationship between corporate responses and the expression of satisfaction by complainants. Our methodological approach focused on quantitative content analysis of corporate Facebook sites. 20 German corporations were systematically selected from a universe of the top 100 German companies in regard to revenue. The sample period comprised six weeks in 2011 (January 18 to February 28). Units of analysis were all complaints posted during this period (708 posts in total).
Results show that the main complaint topics relate to employees and their service as well as to products. Non product or services related aspects, like lack of corporate social responsibility, are addressed more seldom (barely ten percent). Most complaints are unemotional; about one third show (strong) infuriation and barely ten percent contain an insult. Critics are predominantly male (70 percent) and appear with a realistic photo and name. Regarding corporate responses, it shows that 75 percent of the complaint posts are answered on the pin board. The average reaction time is 14.6 hours, while 56 percent follow within 10 hours. However, there are great differences between companies. Only half of corporate representatives responding to complaints are known by name; companies evidently follow a policy whether or not to use a personal response giver. 17 percent of complainers are redirected to another area of responsibility within the firm. When remediation is offered it is mainly intangible in nature. Concerning the relationship between corporate complaint management and complainants’ expression of satisfaction, we find interesting results: There is no significant correlation between reaction time and satisfaction while redirecting the complainant to another area of responsibility within the firm raises dissatisfaction. By contrast, enhanced levels of satisfaction can be gauged when complainants receive a remediation (even if intangible) and when the company communicates in the form of a representative who identifies himself by name. References Fombrun, C. J., Gardberg, N. A. & Sever, J. M. (2000). The Reputation Quotient: A Multi- Stakeholder Measure of Corporate Reputation. Journal of Brand Management, 7(4), 241- 255. Stauss, B. & Seidel, W. (2005). Complaint Management – The Heart of CRM. Mason, OH: Texere.