Few Companies Respond to Tweet Complaints, but They Get High Marks When They Do

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In a recent study of 1,300 consumers who tweeted a complaint about a product, service, or brand, only 29% heard back from the company. As Marist Research reports, although 49% of tweeters expected the company to read their message, less than one-third received a response.

Older tweeters were more optimistic that companies would read their tweet: 65% of those over 55 compared to 38% of 18-24 year-olds.

When companies did respond, they got high marks from consumers. When asked, "How did you feel when the company contacted you as a result of your tweet?" 83% said, "I loved it" or "I liked it," and 74% were "very satisfied" or "somewhat satisfied" with the response. This is good news for companies that do take the time to respond to complaining tweeters.  

  Twitter Complaints

See the full PowerPoint summary here.

Discussion Starters:

  • Why would a company NOT respond to a tweet complaining about its products or services? What are the downsides?
  • Why would a consumer tweet a complaint rather than use other channels (e.g., a letter, an email, an online comment form, or Facebook)? From the consumer's perspective, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each channel?
  • Have you tweeted about a brand or product? What, if any, response did you get, and were you satisfied with the response?