It drives most of us nuts when we call a company—whether it’s to schedule an appointment or talk to customer service—and get stuck on hold f.o.r.e.v.e.r. Savvy organizations know that providing a fast response is key to keeping customers happy. It’s no different when it comes to doing business over social networks. Social Media Explorer’s Jason Falls writes that fast response times may be one tenet of successful social media marketing.
Jason analyzed how quickly several major fast food chains responded to posts on their Facebook walls during a 2.5 week period in January. Here’s a snapshot:
- Quizno’s had a 55-minute response time.
- Arby’s had an 11-hour response time.
- Wendy’s had a 20-minute response time for over 6,000 of the 37,000 posts they received.
- Pizza Hut had a 24-minute response time to negative posts.
More brands are starting to get a handle on the importance of online engagement—but how many, I wonder, are considering the importance of posting timely responses to customers who reach out to interact with the company in the social sphere?
Thoughts on how important response time may or may not be to social media engagement?
