- 59% of respondents used social media to ‘vent’ about a customer service experience.
- 84% of respondents considered the quality of customer service at least sometimes in their decision to do business with a company.
- 74% chose companies/brands based on others’ customer service experiences shared online.
- 84% of respondents considered at least sometimes the quality of customer service in their decision to do business with a company.
- 81% believed that blogs, online rating systems and discussion forums can give consumers a greater voice in customer service, but less than 33% believed that businesses take customers’ opinions seriously.

The most credible advertising comes straight from the people we know and trust. More than eight-in-10 global respondents (83%) say they completely or somewhat trust the recommendations of friends and family. But trust isn’t confined only to those in our inner circle. In fact, two-thirds (66%) say they trust consumer opinions posted online—the third-most-trusted format.

Owned (brand-managed) online channels are also among the most trusted advertising formats. In fact, branded websites are the second-most trusted format, with 70% of global respondents saying they completely or somewhat trust these sites. In addition, more than half of respondents (56%) trust emails they signed up for.