75% of Belgian consumers has at least once filed a complaint, GfK Belgium researched the role of Social Media as a channel for complaints. For more information, please visit: http://blog.gfk.com/2014/10/the-social-science-of-complaining-for-belgians/

1. 1
© GfK Belgium 2014 | The Social Science of Complaining
THE SOCIAL SCIENCE OF COMPLAINING
Usage of social media to file complaints in Belgium
GfK Belgium, October 2014

2. 2
© GfK Belgium 2014 | The Social Science of Complaining
Over time, change took away several boundaries such as time, space or the emancipation of distribution.
This allows consumers to reach out to manufacturers, retailers and service providers when and how they want to for information, for support or with complaints.
75% of Belgian consumers has at least once filed a complaint, GfK Belgium researched the role of Social Media as a channel for complaints.
Source: Digital Transformation, a model to master digital disruption (Jo Caudron & Dado Van Peteghem, 2014)
Change took away barriers between consumers and companies
Analog
Digital
Connected (Internet)
Social
Mobile
Wave 1 Emancipation of production exclusivity
Wave 2 Emancipation of physical boundaries
Wave 3 Emancipation of distribution and gatekeeping
Wave 4 Emancipation of time/space restrictions
in

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© GfK Belgium 2014 | The Social Science of Complaining
N = 6732 | “Which of the following channels did you use at least once to file a complaint towards a company or organization?”
Traditional (yet digital) channels are preferred to file complaints
75% of Belgium consumers (18+) has at least once filed a complaint
E-mail
58%
Telephone
33%
Corporate website
25%

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© GfK Belgium 2014 | The Social Science of Complaining
25-34
35-44
15-24
N = 6732 | “Which of the following channels did you use at least once to file a complaint towards a company or organization?”
Social complaints on the rise
Of youngsters (15-24) filing a complaint, 18% uses social media.
Facebook is used by all generations, while younger generations also use Twitter or networks such as Pinterest, Google +, LinkedIn and Instagram.
in

5. 5
© GfK Belgium 2014 | The Social Science of Complaining
N = 797 | “Why did you use Social Media?”
Social media as an amplifier after not being heard
50% of complaints on social media have been already filed via other channels.
Not being heard, speed and convenience are the main drivers for using social media, regardless the age, education or gender of the consumer.
I expect faster response

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© GfK Belgium 2014 | The Social Science of Complaining
Appendix
Sent a complaint via Facebook
Sent a complaint via Twitter
Sent a complaint via other Social Media
I wanted as many people as possible to see my complaint
I didn’t receive (sufficient) reaction via other channels
Social media as last resort to get into contact
More convenient than other channels
I expect faster response
I expect a faster solution for my problem
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65+
9,8%
9,3%
6,9%
4,1%
2,0%
1,3%
4,3%
2,6%
1,3%
0,4%
0,0%
0,1%
2,9%
0,9%
0,6%
,3%
0,1%
0,2%
38,2%
41,3%
32,8%
36,6%
32,5%
39,9%
20,6%
26,9%
28,7%
26,4%
14,0%
25,9%
35,3%
20,2%
23,2%
18,3%
15,7%
10,7%
39,3%
20,3%
31,2%
17,6%
11,8%
47,6%
50,7%
51,2%
32,8%
29,8%
22,1%
25,1%
28,7%
42,3%
34,6%
25,2%
31,4%
25,0%

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© GfK Belgium 2014 | The Social Science of Complaining
Want to know more?
Read the full article on our GfK blog
Bert Hendrickx
Digital Market Intelligence
bert.hendrickx@gfk.com
Kenny Bos
Research Consultant
kenny.bos@gfk.com
Contacts GfK Belgium
url: http://blog.gfk.com/2014/10/the-social-science-of-complaining-for-belgians/