Week 2 Part A: Communication Between Business & Consumer

    Businesses communicate with consumers in a variety of ways. The communication tools businesses use is often dependent upon the type of budget the company has and the size of the audience it is trying to reach. How a business communicates with the consumer is often reflective of the corporate dynamic and can have an impact on its overall success. In recent years the way businesses communicate with the consumer has started to change, especially in 2020. I think it is safe to say this past year just about every business was faced with some sort of challenge due to COVID-19. Businesses were forced to evolve their communication skills and heavily rely on social media as a primary source of communication.

    Social media can be a great tool to get noticed when you have a problem. Given the business you are dealing with is active and uses it too.  You can reach out in a direct message, share a photo, or leave a review. A good business will quickly respond to you to resolve the issue as soon as possible. For example, Yelp is a great first step before dealing with a business, as is any other social media outlets they might have. You no longer have to spend hours on the phone trying to get through to customer service, only to be placed on "hold" for an additional amount of time. Now you can do your research on a business via social media beforehand and save yourself the stress in the long run.

    Depending on my experience with the product or service of the business will determine what kind of comment or review I share. I tend to stay away from sharing any negative comments about a business unless the product or service was absolutely horrible. For example, if I go out to eat and the food is not up to standards, I am not immediately going to go to that business page and leave a negative comment. Who knows, maybe there is a new cook who is still getting the hang of things, or the cook is just having an off day. But when it comes to positive comments, if I went out to eat and the service was good, the food was exactly what I ordered, and the place was clean then I will go on their page and give them a good review because that is what they deserve. Reviews can affect a business more than you think.

    If it were my own business on social media, I would respond to all comments, negative or positive. For negative comments, I would start by apologizing for the inconvenience. I would ask how we can improve or make our product better. After solving the problem, I would apologize one last time, suggest giving us another try, and hope to see them again in the future. As for positive comments, I would be sure to respond quickly, within 1-2 days. I would thank them for their business and would encourage them to share my business with family and friends. I would thank them again and express that I hope to see them again!