Responding Effectively to Customer Feedback on Twitter

A Mixed Methods Study of Webcare Styles

Dados Bibliográficos

ID22872008
AutoresMatteo Fuoli (0000-0003-3544-1095, University of Birmingham, autor correspondente), Isobelle Clarke (0000-0001-5541-6327, Lancaster University), Viola Wiegand (0000-0001-6746-6620, University of Birmingham), Hendrik Ziezold (TomTom International), Hendrik S Ziezold (TomTom (Netherlands)), Michaela Mahlberg (0000-0002-4598-8011, University of Birmingham)
Ano2021
Volume42
Fascículo3
Páginas569-595
Data de publicação2021-06-14
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoApplied Linguistics (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0142-6001 • E-ISSN: 1477-450X
EditoraOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/applin/amaa046
OpenAlexW3096726532
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas11
Referências citadas54

Social media offer an unprecedented opportunity for companies to interact more closely with customers and market their products and services. But social media also present reputational risks as negative word-of-mouth can spread more quickly and widely through these platforms than ever before. This study investigates how companies respond to customer complaints on Twitter. We propose an innovative mixed methods approach (i) to identify the key features that mark the styles used by a sample of companies in their replies to customers and (ii) to determine the most effective strategies for responding to complaints. Our results reveal that an affective style, expressed through devices such as stance markers, emphatics, and amplifiers, elicits the most positive response from complainants, regardless of the formality of the message. The study advances our understanding of the features and effects of corporate social media discourse. It also provides business communication practitioners with linguistically grounded insights that can inform the development of appropriate strategies for dealing with negative word-of-mouth online.

Advertising · Business · Formality · Linguistics · Political science · Public relations · Sample (material) · Social media · Style (visual arts) · Word of mouth · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Digital Communication and Language · Digital Marketing and Social Media · Marketing · Psychology · Public Relations and Crisis Communication

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