2. Customer Service on Twitter - March 2015 #SimplySocial2
Introduction
With 43% of the Interbrand 100 Best Global Brands
maintaining customer service-devoted Twitter handles, the
network is swiftly becoming not only a brand awareness
mechanism and website traffic driver, but also a relied-upon
way to address customer issues swiftly and appropriately.
And brands with a customer service presence on Twitter
aren’t just sitting there and looking pretty: 31% of the
Interbrand 100’s customer service handles tweet at least
10 times daily. Sixty-three percent (63%) have an average
response time of under 8 hours—up from 53% for the same
timeframe last year.
In this study, we analyze the top brands in the world and
see how they use Twitter to interact with consumers and
build goodwill towards their brands. We’ll identify the tactics
that these brands use, the results they’re seeing, and lessons
to be learned.
288 million
monthly active users
500 million
Tweets sent per day
are on mobile
80% of users
3. Customer Service on Twitter - March 2015 #SimplySocial3
Methodology
This study looks at the Twitter activity of the Interbrand 2014
Best 100 Global Brands.
At the end of each year, Interbrand ranks the top 100 global
brands based on several factors, including market, brand,
competitor, and financial data. In 2014, Interbrand included
Twitter data as part of their ranking process for the first time.
The Interbrand 100 is an industry standard, and a standard
for our Simply Measured network studies. We analyze this list
because these companies are the best in the world at building
and maintaining a brand, which is a prerequisite to a successful
social media strategy.
Statistics cited in this study are based on data from 1/1/15 -
2/14/15.
All data was analyzed using Simply Measured’s industry-leading
social media analytics and reporting platform.
THIS STUDY ENCOMPASSES:
173,174 Tweets by 43 brands
1,098,407 followers
162,691 mentions from
61,881 unique Twitter users
@
4. Customer Service on Twitter - March 2015 #SimplySocial4
Definitions
Customer Service Handles
Twitter handles dedicated specifically to customer service
requests, independent of the brand’s main Twitter account.
Examples include @NikeSupport, @AskAmex, or
@AmazonHelp.
Total Mentions
The total mentions metric is gauged by how many times a
brand is mentioned – excluding Retweets. In this study, total
mentions applies to only handles dedicated to customer
service.
Total Responses
Total responses are measured by the number of times a
brand responds to mentions of its customer service @handle.
Response Time
The amount of time it takes an account to respond to a
Tweet. This metric can be measured by subtracting the time
of the original inbound Tweet from the time of response.
Average Response Time
The average of all response times among responded-
to comments during a specific time frame; in this study,
1/1/2015 to 2/14/2015.
Response Rate
Response rate is based on the number of Tweets responded
to. It’s calculated by dividing the number of mentions
responded to by the total number of Tweets that mention
the brand’s handle.
Tweets Sent
In this study, we’ve counted Tweets sent as the number of
overall Tweets sent by a customer service brand handle,
including responses to users who may have sent a Tweet to
the regular brand handle.
5. Customer Service on Twitter - March 2015 #SimplySocial5
USER BEHAVIOR
More Twitter Users Are Mentioning Brands, More Politely Than You Think
The number of times that the Interbrand 100’s dedicated customer
service handles were mentioned increased 41% year-over-year.
Customers are increasingly turning to Twitter to express frustration
at specific scenarios, and are more polite than you might think,
frequently using words like “please” and “thanks.”
Key Findings
• Interbrand 100 customer service handles were mentioned
162,691 times during the study time period, or 84 mentions
per brand, per day. This is up 41% year-over-year. Among
customer service handles that were active during the same
period both years, mentions increased 16%.
• “Please” was one of the most commonly used words in Tweets
mentioning the customer service handles of the Interbrand 100,
appearing 16,108 times, in 10% of customer Tweets.
• Other popular words included “thanks” (appearing in 9%
of Tweets), “already” (appearing in 7% of Tweets), “help”
(appearing in 7% of Tweets), “contact” (appearing in 7%
of Tweets), “error” (appearing in 6% of Tweets), “offer”
(appearing in 5% of Tweets), “now” (appearing in 5% of
Tweets), and “enrolled” (appearing in 5% of Tweets).
This chart shows how user mentions and brand responses have
grown since last year for the Interbrand 100.
Total Mentions and Responses for Interbrand
100 Dedicated Customer Service Handles
6. Customer Service on Twitter - March 2015 #SimplySocial6
Takeaway
Customers are using Twitter to resolve their issues more often,
and are mentioning specific terms related to their issues, like
“delivery,” “account,” “card,” and “app.” They are also using
words like “please” and “thanks” more frequently than one
might expect.
This word cloud shows the top words utilized in Tweets that
mention the Interbrand 100 during the study time period.
7. Customer Service on Twitter - March 2015 #SimplySocial7
ACTIVITY: CUSTOMER SERVICE TWEETS SENT
Brands Are Increasing Their Customer
Service Activity
While the number of top brands active on Twitter didn’t
increase year-over-year, the number of dedicated customer
service handles for those brands did increase. The number
of Tweets sent by brands with dedicated customer service
handles also rose. This suggests that more and more brands
are seeing Twitter as an effective means of resolving customer
service issues.
Key Findings
• The number of top brands with dedicated customer service
handles has increased by 19% year-over-year.
• @Replies account for 99% of sent Tweets from customer
service handles.
• The number of top brands who send 10+ customer service
Tweets daily has increased by 41%, the number of top brands
who send 50+ customer service Tweets daily has increased by
43%, and the number of top brands who send 100+ Tweets
daily has more than doubled, going from 7% to 15%.
Takeaway
Brands are getting more acclimated to using Twitter for
customer service purposes, and are consistently increasing
the number of Tweets they send out.
This chart shows how the number of customer service Tweets sent has changed
since last year for the Interbrand 100.
Customer Service on Twitter for the Interbrand 100
8. Customer Service on Twitter - March 2015 #SimplySocial8
ACTIVITY: CUSTOMER SERVICE TACTICS
Brand Response Tactics Vary Widely
Customer service handles for top brands most frequently point
users to online resources for resolving their issues, and least
frequently direct users to direct message (DM) the brand.
Key Findings
• 24% of responses from top brands direct customer service
queries to online resources, 15% apologize to users in their
responses, 12% direct users to email, 9% request more info,
5% direct users to call their number, and only 3% direct
users to DM.
• 80% of @AmazonHelp responses direct users to their site,
85% of @UPSHelp responses direct users to email, and
45% of @HSBC_UK_Help responses direct users to call a
telephone number.
Takeaway
Dedicated customer service handles for top brands use a wide
variety of tactics to respond to customers, from directing users
to websites to asking them to correspond over DM for more
privacy-sensitive matters.
This chart shows the top tactics that Interbrand 100 dedicated customer service
handles use, sorted by percentage of total Tweets from largest to smallest.
This chart shows the Interbrand 100’s top 10 dedicated customer service handles by
the most mentions and their use of different response tactics.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
@HSBC_UK_Help
@AdobeCare
@AskeBay
@SamsungSupport
@UPSHelp
@NikeSupport
@AskAmex
@LumiaHelp
@AmazonHelp
Direct Users to Site Request More Info Direct Users to Email Diret Users to Call Direct Users to DM
9. Customer Service on Twitter - March 2015 #SimplySocial9
ACTIVITY: RESPONSE TIME
Top Brands Are Frequent, Speedy Responders
Ninety-five percent (95%) of top brands’ customer service
accounts send their responses within 48 hours when they do
send a response, showing a commitment to quickly resolving
issues on Twitter. A mere 5% of brands respond by the
impressive one hour mark. Average response times remain
largely unchanged from the same period last year.
Key Findings
• 95% of brand responses come within 48 hours, 91% come
within 24 hours, 86% come within 16 hours, 63% come within
8 hours, 42% come within 4 hours, 23% come within 2 hours,
and 5% come within 1 hour.
• The only notable change between average account response
times year-over-year was a 12-point increase in brands who
respond within two hours.
Takeaway
Dedicated customer service handles for top brands are good
at responding in a timely fashion to those who mention them
on Twitter, with 91% of responses going out within 24 hours.
There was no drastic change in average response times for top
brands year-over-year.
This chart shows how the average response times for the Interbrand 100
have changed from the same period last year.
10. Customer Service on Twitter - March 2015 #SimplySocial10
ACTIVITY: RESPONSE TIME VS. EXPECTED RESPONSE TIME
Top Brands Do Well at Meeting Customer
Expectations on Twitter
Using a combination of our data on Interbrand 100
response times and Lithium Technologies’ data on customer
expectations, we found that top brands are doing a good job of
satisfying customers with service via Twitter.
Key Findings
• 100% of customers who expect a response from a brand
within a few days are satisfied by the Interbrand 100.
• 86% of customers expect a response from a brand within 24
hours, and 97% of those customers have their expectations
met by the Interbrand 100.
• 53% of customers expect a response from a brand
within one hour, and 74% of those customers have their
expectations met by the Interbrand 100.
• 33% of customers expect a response from a brand within
thirty minutes, and 62% of those customers have their
expectations met by the Interbrand 100.
Takeaway
Dedicated customer service handles for top brands are good
at meeting customer expectations on Twitter, doing the best at
meeting customer expectations of a response within 24 hours
to a few days.
This chart shows how Interbrand 100 dedicated customer service handle response
times and customer expectations compare.
11. Customer Service on Twitter - March 2015 #SimplySocial11
ACTIVITY: TIME OF DAY
Most Mentions and Responses Occur During
North American Business Hours
Most dedicated customer service handle mentions and responses
occur between 5 AM PST and 3 PM PST, showing a North
American business day tendency by both users and brands.
Key Findings
• The Interbrand 100 customer service handles receive the
most mentions and send the most responses between 8:00-
9:00 AM PST.
• The Interbrand 100 has the best customer service response
time between 5:00-6:00 PM PST.
• The Interbrand 100 has the worst customer service response
time between 1:00-2:00 AM PST.
Takeaway
The Interbrand 100’s most active time for both responses and
mentions directly correlates to the North American business
day. Dedicated customer service handles see the least activity
and have the highest response time, predictably, in the
middle of the night, with mentions rising and response times
dropping from that point on.
This chart shows how activity for the Interbrand 100’s dedicated
customer service handles fluctuates by time of day.
12. Customer Service on Twitter - March 2015 #SimplySocial12
INDUSTRY ACTIVITY
Technology, Financial Services, and
Transportation Brands Are Mentioned Most
Technology is the most well-represented customer service
sector on Twitter. It also receives the most mentions and sends
more responses than any other sector.
Key Findings
• Eight technology Interbrand 100 brands have customer
service handles on Twitter. They received 45,636 mentions
and responded 30,273 times in the study period.
• Technology, financial services, and automotive verticals have
the greatest number of dedicated customer service handles,
but are also the most well-represented verticals on the
Interbrand 100 list.
• 100% of Interbrand 100 restaurant and transportation brands
have an active customer service handle.
• Apparel and electronics brand categories have the fewest
dedicated customer service handles, at two each. Their
response rate is impressive, however, at 52%.
Takeaway
Technology customer service handles like @MicrosoftHelps
and @SamsungSupport drove the most user mentions and
responses on Twitter during the given time period. Apparel
brands @hm_custserv and @ZARA_Care and electronics brands
@phillipscare and @SonySupportUSA received the fewest
mentions. The restaurants category (@KFCCustomerCare,
@starbuckshelp, @PizzaHutCares, and @Reachout_mcd) and
electronics category (@phillipscare and @SonySupportUSA)
sent the fewest responses.
This chart shows how activity for the Interbrand 100’s dedicated customer
service handles fluctuates by industry.
13. Customer Service on Twitter - March 2015 #SimplySocial13
TOP BRANDS BY DEMAND, PERFORMANCE, AND RESPONSE RATE
@AmazonHelp Has Most Mentions and
@UPSHelp Wins Lowest Average Response Time
As a huge global ecommerce brand, @AmazonHelp received the
most mentions during the study time period, and also boasted
a low average response time, showing the brand’s devotion to
keeping customers happy and coming back for more. @UPSHelp
responds to customers most speedily.
Key Findings
• @AmazonHelp received the most mentions among the
Interbrand 100 during the study time period, while also
scoring one of the lowest average response times, coming
in under an hour.
• @UPSHelp had the lowest average response time among the
most mentioned brands, coming in just under 16 minutes.
• Among the most mentioned brands, @LumiaHelp and
@NikeSupport boasted the highest average response rates
at 76% and 75%, respectively.
Takeaway
Of the top ten most mentioned brands in the Interbrand 100,
@UPSHelp has the fastest response time, while @LumiaHelp and
@NikeSupport boast the highest average response rates.
This chart displays the Interbrand 100’s top 10 most mentioned dedicated
customer service handles.
This chart shows the Interbrand 100’s top 10 most mentioned dedicated
customer service handles sorted by average response rate and response time.
14. Customer Service on Twitter - March 2015 #SimplySocial14
Conclusion
Top brands’ dedicated customer service handles are being
mentioned more frequently on Twitter. As a result, brands are
engaging in customer service efforts on the network at ever-higher
levels and with increasing success. Standout trends include:
• Customers are increasingly turning to Twitter to express
frustration at specific scenarios, more politely than you
might expect.
• Brands are getting more acclimated to using Twitter for
customer service purposes, and are consistently increasing
the number of Tweets they send out.
• Dedicated customer service handles for top brands use
a wide variety of tactics to respond to customers.
• Dedicated customer service handles for top brands are good
at responding in a timely fashion to those who mention them
on Twitter, with 91% of responses going out within 24 hours.
• Dedicated customer service handles for top brands are good
at meeting customer expectations on Twitter.
• The Interbrand 100’s most active time for both responses and
mentions directly correlates to the North American business day.
• Technology brands represent the largest group of Interbrand
100 customer service handles on Twitter.
Growing a healthy customer service presence on Twitter
requires meticulous measurement and vigilance. This
effort is becoming a necessity as customers turn to the
network more frequently to resolve their customer service
woes and get answers to questions. Interbrand 100
companies are experiencing progress, challenges, and
discoveries as they continue to experiment with customer
service techniques on the network.
