Nando’s customers have tweeted the restaurant chain to the top of the leaderboard in the second UK Customer Experience Index (UKCEI).
And unhappy customers have left the NHS licking its wounds at the bottom of the board.
More than 300,000 tweets sent during March and April have been analysed for the Index using a pioneering methodology by SpectrumInsight and revealed first through Customer Experience Magazine.
Twitter and its succinct 140 characters is increasingly being used by customers from a cross section of social backgrounds and ages. Key positive words such as ‘favourite’ and ‘great response’ and ‘love’ have been tracked, with key negatives such as ‘hate’ and ‘rude staff’.
It’s growing use means that Twitter is swiftly becoming more and more representative of the overall population and the UKCEI offers a way to find out how people are feeling about a particular brand, and to compare brands.
Mark Westaby, Director of SpectrumInsight, believes that movement within the Index reflects ‘national mood’, and challenges traditional customer satisfaction research.
“These latest results feature more general brand types that people visit or use on a daily basis. I think the results show the national mood, and not just how customers feel about the brand,” he explained.
Although Nando’s came out top in the latest Index they are certainly not perfect in terms of customer experience, with some negative comments captured as well as positive. Top Shop came first in the January and February analysis and is still top of the shops and ahead of Nando’s in the overall table from January to April.
A Nando’s spokesperson commented: “Twitter, Facebook and other social media channels are a great platform to help and engage more effectively with our customers and fans.
Our approach to doing things a bit differently has worked well so far, but as with many other brands, we’re still learning.”
Mr Westaby says that results of customer satisfactions research are seasonal and things such as Christmas, summer holidays and the weather all affect customer choices and perceived experience.
The UKCEI shows that current news does get customer’s fingers twitching and typing, along with a good or bad customer experience.
National news of the NHS reforms and the Mid Staffs report generated some strong negative comments that shifted the health care provider from a middling position in February to the bottom of the heap in the latest Index.
Apple also plummeted in the Index from a customer experience score of 94 in February to just 19 in April. According to the tweets this is linked to the news in April that profits are likely to fall for the first time in a decade combined with frustration that the company is not coming up with any new gadgets.
“The interpretation is that the BBC is getting over the Jimmy Saville issue and is ultimately still a highly regarded organization. There appears to be an underlying fondness for the BBC,” explained Mr Westaby.
“The NHS interpretation is worrying as the population – politics aside – is now saying there are big problems,” he added.
For further information about the awards please see www.uk-ce-awards.co.uk or
cxm.co.uk or call Press Officer Tracey Pastor on
07952 931844
Below is the Customer Experience Index result for March and April 2013, supplied by SpectrumInsight for Customer Experience Magazine.
Customer Experience Magazine is an on-line business-to-business magazine aimed at customer experience professionals. It offers current news, innovation and features from the world of customer experience.
Telephone 0207 558 8241 cxm.co.uk
Mark Westaby is Director of SpectrumInsight an international online and social media evaluation and analysis firm that delivers affordable insight to help business build and maintain brands.
Telephone 0207 034 7090 www.spectruminsight.net