Let’s try and understand why different industries are currently contributing towards more than $1.7 billion US dollars.
Telecom
As the Indian telecom sector grows at a rapid pace, the mobile services market is expected to touch $37 billion in 2017. There’s little room to budge in this sector and it’s not possible to keep everyone happy at all times. High density of users and infrastructure limitations leads to someone somewhere being unhappy. Lousy customer service and discrepancies in monthly bills are also some of the issues that plague this industry. In its January 2015 press release TRAI observed that cumulative mobile number portability (MNP) requests increased from 142.98 million at the end of December, 2014 to 146.54 million at the end of January 2015. This underscores the importance of better customer service.
Although telecom operators have call centers and retail outlets where consumers can seek help, it is not nearly enough to warrant acknowledgement & quick resolution. Long queues at the outlets and holding time on IVR systems compel consumers to vent frustration on social media and complaint forums. Brands in this sector have realized this and maintain presence on social media for providing customer service. Handful of leading brands have adopted social listening strategies to ensure that conversations from all web channels are discovered.
BFSI
According to a KPMG-CII report, India is slated to be the fifth largest banking industry in the world by 2020 and third largest by 2025. The country’s Life Insurance sector is the biggest in the world (36 crore policies approximately) made up of 24 brands and dominated by Life Insurance Corporation which is the sole public sector company. Complaints about cheating, mis-selling & unauthorized transactions are rife in this sector.
One look at any complaint forum will reveal consumer frustration with brands from this sector. Aggrieved consumers go to great length like providing bank account details, name, address and photo copies of documents which contain sensitive personal information in the hope of getting their issues resolved. This puts brand reputation at great risk. Although BFSI brands are shy about embracing social media, leading brands from this sector have chosen to be bold and maintain presence on leading social networks. Brands like Kotak, HDFC and ICICI have gone one step further by opening up social banking. Through social listening and analytics there is a lot to actionable intelligence these brands can derive.
Retail
According to Hypatia Research global brands from this sector spend the highest on social media analytics (689.1 million US dollars). Social media is the ideal platform for B2C brands due to the presence of a diverse and dense demographic on popular sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. According to the Retailers Association of India (RAI), India is among the top 10 retail markets in the world. By 2018, this sector is expected to US $950 billion.
A recent study done by OctaneGo.com along with Retailers Association of India (RAI) revealed that 77% retailers voted social media as the most prevalent channel for customer engagement. Key reports like Influencer Analysis, Classification Analysis, Sentiment Analysis, Engagement Over Time, Followers Over Time & Most Engaged Users provided by social listening and analytics tools are of great help to such brands. These insights provide actionable intelligence for plotting future engagement strategies that drive sales.
Tourism
Travelers give great emphasis to reviews on sites like TripAdvisor to choose suitable accommodation and make travel choices. Naturally it makes sense for hotel chains, airline brands and travel agents to ensure that their brand reputation in maintained. Some of the common complaints from this sector arise from experiences pertaining to hygiene, food, customer service, baggage issues, hotel staff, unexplained costs etc.
The great influence social media has on brands from variety of sectors is undeniable. Brands who want to stay on top of their social media game need to adopt social listening strategies not only to manage responses but also to gain actionable intelligence.