“Call out culture”: top three reasons consumers call out organisations
3 May 2019
Call out culture
In today’s highly connected, “call out culture” world, social media and mobile devices have changed the way consumers interact with organisations online. Social media has long been a double edged sword for brands and communication professionals. On the one hand, it allows organisations to connect with consumers like never before, but on the other it has created a platform where anyone can say anything, positive or negative about an organisation for the whole world to see. Today, the future success of any organisation is decided not only by who they are and what they offer, but also the feedback they receive and how they respond. A survey by Sprout Social highlighted the “call-out culture” that social media has created, identifying that almost half of the consumers surveyed revealed they’ve used social media to call out brands. Read the top three reasons consumers are likely to call out organisations on social media:
1. Dishonesty
When a consumer feels an organisation has mislead or lied to them.
2. Bad customer service
When the customer experience journey is not to the standard the consumer believed they should have experienced.
3. Rudeness
If a consumer has experienced rudeness from an organisation in person (e.g. a rude shop assistant in a store) they are more likely to vent and call out the store online.
What can you do?
For all organisations, it is critical to understand the importance of the response when you are faced with this situation. A poor response is often just as bad as no response in the eyes of the consumer. If organisations respond poorly to complaints online, they are more likely to experience boycotts and forms of online shaming. To respond well, organisations must be genuine. Social media has the power to make your organisation appear far more personable and allow consumers to build a relationship with you. When organisations respond well, consumers are likely to want to share their win and push to redeem the organisation’s reputation. Having a well thought out social media reputation management strategy in place is pivotal in this digital age for all organisations.