60% of Consumers Say They Expect Social Brand Response

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A recent trend report released by Arnold Worldwide showed that social media is critical in the conversation of brand services. Almost 60 percent of people worldwide say they expect brands to respond to social media comments regarding service at least most of the time.

Nearly 60 percent of people globally have posted either a positive or negative social media comment about a brand regarding a service experience, said Arnold.

Nearly three quarters (74 percent) of the respondents from China stated that they have posted comments regarding a service experience with a brand. Brazilian respondents were just behind China with 68 percent. U.S. and U.K. respondents both fell in with less than half saying they posted comments to social media platforms at 48 percent and 45 percent respectively.

The online survey consisted of 2,400 respondents split evenly between the U.S., U.K., Brazil, and China. Fielded in April 2012, the survey had a gender demographic that was evenly split between men and women ages 18 and older.

At the global level, 59 percent of people expect brands to respond to social media comments regarding service at least most of the time. However, these numbers may be skewed due to emerging markets such as Brazil and China having such high expectations. The report shows that 83 percent of the respondents from Brazil and 74 percent from China expect a response from brands.

The U.S and U.K. have much lower expectations regarding this area with only 39 and 40 percent saying they expect a response. These social media responses also seem to have an impact on people's brand perceptions and purchasing decisions. Forty-six percent of people globally said they respect brands that respond and contribute to discussions about the service their customers have received.

Another interesting piece the report touched on was information sharing among consumers. Globally, 67 percent of people said they would be willing to share personal information with brands relevant to them in order to improve service.

Chinese participants were most willing with 86 percent saying they would hand out personal information. Brazilian participants were next on the list with 72 percent. The U.S (56 percent) and the U.K. (52 percent) rounded out the group.