India is currently among the fastest-growing Fintech markets in the world, and it is expected to become a USD 84 billion market by 2025. With such growth, organizations become noticeable to the public eye and this is accompanied by an increase in both online and offline conversation about them. While this is excellent for business, popularity means that Fintech companies are also vulnerable to crises during which negative feedback spreads rapidly, threatening their brand’s reputation and putting them at a risk of losing customers.
Why a well-designed social listening strategy is of importance to a Fintech brand during a crisis
Social media has altered the way in which financial companies interact with their customers. The rising number of smartphone users in the country is the major factor behind this change. It is estimated that by 2022, India will have 820 million smartphone users – which means that more people will shift to digital methods for everything.
While social media gives brands a massive reach with its huge number of users, the same factor can work undesirably during a crisis. Even the smallest of negative mentions can snowball into a major disaster within a short period of time, particularly if left unattended. Moreover, given the pandemic situation of 2020, there have been concerns among customers about the cost of financial services and the security provided by Fintech companies. Social listening can help businesses keep an eye on customer sentiment during a crisis such as an increase in negative mentions or a drop in customer engagement. Doing this gives the brand an understanding of their perception in the industry and take necessary corrective measures.
Social media can be a one-stop solution for resolving the majority of customer queries and concerns, displaying to users that a company values its consumers and pays attention to their problems. In addition, monitoring conversation on social networking platforms lets one know if the crisis has been picked up by the media. This can lead to bigger repercussions, so the organization needs to strategize accordingly and execute the right actions to avoid its reputation being tarnished. After all, more than 25% of the market value of a company is directly connected to its reputation.
The data collected from social listening can be helpful even after a crisis is over. Fintech companies can use the feedback to find the cause of the crisis, how it escalated, what worked and did not work, etc. This can be immensely helpful in training, development, and preparing a contingency plan for future emergencies.
What kind of crises should Fintech organizations be prepared for?
All Fintech companies need to have robust strategies in place to prevent and tackle any emergencies. Some major disasters that Fintech businesses may encounter today include data breaches, fraud committed by customers or employees, and third-party fraud. There may also be external factors such as market fluctuations, decisions taken by regulatory authorities that may negatively affect the brand, and incorrect or negative reportages of a company’s spokesperson.
How to prepare your social listening strategy
Here are a few tips for Fintech organizations to design an effective crisis management strategy:
- Get your social media team together to create a checklist and keep it ready with all potential crisis scenarios along with the ways to tackle them. Define clear responsibilities for each team member so that people can get to work the moment you are aware of a crisis looming.
- Have a set of reliable brand advocates ready (How to build brand advocates?) to counter the online negativity with positive mentions. Loyalists who consistently interact with a brand’s posts also help in maintaining or even gradually increasing a brand’s engagement levels on social media.
- Address the customer issues on high priority and offer the best of solutions, but never ask them to delete their negative feedback from social media.
- Communicate your side of the picture in a clear manner to social media users as well as the media. Check whether the crisis is directly impacting the brand. If not, then a simple media statement should suffice to communicate your stance.
- Apologize if and when required, but ensure that the brand works to make things right immediately for the customer.
Conclusion
Consumers today expect Fintech companies to understand the unique needs of every customer and offer personalized services. A simple, clear but effective social media listening strategy can help your Fintech business stand out amongst the rest, both in times of crisis and otherwise.
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