Social Media Lessons from a Robotic Vacuum
How my Roomba taught me everything I need to know about social media
I was a couple years late to the party, but last winter I joined the 9-plus million people who have watched the YouTube classic, “Cat in a Shark Costume Chases a Duck while Riding a Roomba.” The title is pretty much self-explanatory. But after I finished watching (and laughing) what I was really interested in was getting myself a Roomba.
The little robotic vacuum cleaners have been around for more than a decade now, but after some Googling I discovered that recent models have taken things to a whole new level: scheduling, wireless integration, advanced “dirt detection,” etc. I had to have one. What would follow was an unintentional crash course in the potential (and pitfalls) of shopping and customer service in the social media era.
By now, it’s not news that social media is everywhere. The average user logs in for nearly 1.7 hours every day or 12 hours a week, according to GlobalWebIndex. Millennials watch more YouTube than TV, by some accounts. But what’s easy to miss is how fundamentally social media has changed how we spend not just our time but our money.
The way people learn about products, evaluate them, buy, interact with companies and give feedback is all being mediated today by social media. It’s one thing to see the stats on this digital transformation (and there are plenty), but it’s another to experience it firsthand when you least expect it — like when you’re shopping for a Roomba.
Now, I’m an early adopter when it comes to technology, and I live and breathe social media at Hootsuite. But for businesses testing the social media waters, I hope sharing my little Roomba saga can shed some light on how Twitter, Facebook and other networks are quietly (and radically) reshaping the way people buy stuff — the timeless march known as the customer journey. To be clear, I’m definitely not a paid Roomba spokesperson … and I don’t think these concepts apply just to robotic vacuums.
Down the Roomba rabbit hole
After I had my fill of cats-on-Roombas YouTube videos (turns out this is a whole genre), I got down to the business of picking out my model. Whereas in the distant past this would have involved going down to an electronics store or, in the more recent past, plowing my way through CNET reviews, in this instance I headed over to Twitter. I posted the following Tweet to my Twitter followers:
Feedback started to trickle in. Guided by the wisdom of the crowd (or at least the few friends who replied), I set my sights on the Roomba 880, which was supposedly quieter and more powerful than other models. Interesting side note: While buying the model online, I noticed that the Roomba folks had actually co-opted the whole cat thing in their sales materials. (I quote: “Just make sure your cat doesn’t hop on board the cleaning extravaganza and turn your Roomba into its personal hoverboard.”) So what started out as a silly meme on social media found its way into corporate ad copy — very interesting.
A few days later, my new Roomba arrived — an unboxing that I celebrated, of course, on Facebook. I didn’t really think twice about doing this. You get something new, you post it on Facebook, right … ideally driving your friends wild with jealousy over your new gadget. (Some YouTube all-stars have taken this to a whole other level, attracting literally millions of views for unboxings of stuff like Disney products.) The flip side, though, is that all this is an especially powerful (not to mention free) form of advertising for the brand in question — not the least because the plug is coming from people you trust and know, not a faceless company.
Customer service 2.0: Venting and redemption via social media
Just two days after my triumphant unboxing, however, disaster struck … and my faith in the power of social media was, at least temporarily, tested. While I was at work, my brand new Roomba got a little overzealous around a Christmas tree I had set up for the holidays. I returned home to find a string of lights gobbled up by the little vacuum, which was stuck at the scene of the crime. Pine needles and smashed ornaments littered the floor. It turned out my $700 Roomba 880 was a total bust. So, I did what came naturally. I took to Twitter to vent my rage.
Businesses have always respected the power of word-of-mouth reviews — especially negative ones. The old adage goes that one happy customer tells three friends, while an unhappy customer tells ten. I think it’s safe to say that in the social media era those numbers need to be raised by an order of magnitude. Worst-case scenario, a creative customer complaint goes viral and reaches millions, generating press coverage and a full-blown PR nightmare. (The classic example: the United Breaks Guitars music video, with 15 million views and counting … but there are many, many more.)
What’s clear is that the era of customers patiently navigating automated phone systems only to be put on hold is quickly coming to a close. An estimated 67 percent of consumers now tap networks such as Twitter and Facebook for customer service. And 60 percent of people who complain on Twitter expect a response within an hour. Many companies, however, are failing to keep up. A recent survey of 500 top retailers shows only 20 percent of questions sent via Twitter and 54 percent sent via Facebook get a response — period. And the average response time is more than 27 hours.
But the smart companies are already well ahead of the pack. I had a feeling that by including the #roomba hashtag in my angry Tweet their customer service team might take notice. And, the very next day, they did — and then some.
Because iRobot was active on social media, they were able to pause my angry rant in its tracks. Their response was fast (relatively speaking), personalized and done with a dash of humor. More than anything, this little exchange crystallized to me the power and potential of customer service on social media. Using simple, cheap tools, the company turned what could have been a mini PR disaster into an opportunity. (How cheap? Some studies show that social media customer service costs around $1 per interaction, versus $6 for phone service.)
And instead of blasting out messages about my awful Roomba experience, I was ready to sing the company’s praises. When a brand new Roomba 980 showed up at my door a few days later, the first thing I did was share a pic with the Twitterverse. I was genuinely appreciative. But, incidentally, this also meant more free advertising for the iRobot team … a probability that may well have factored into their decision to send a free vacuum to my doorstep. To give my Tweet some extra juice, I even made sure that my dog Barbie made it into the photo (pets being guaranteed gold on social media.)
What’s the moral of this little social media saga? It’s easy to say that social media is changing how people interact with companies, but it can sometimes be hard to see it up close. The Roomba experience brought the reality home for me, and I don’t think it’s at all unique. For companies who haven’t gotten the social media message quite yet, I hope this can be a gentle wake up call:
Digital natives — people raised on the Internet and social media — already make up 90 percent of 15–24 year olds in many developed countries. For companies who want to continue to attract customers in the years ahead and remain viable, it’s key to fish where the fish are. Businesses that can sell to customers, address customer service issues and spread the word-of-mouth gospel on social media are tapping into a new and growing audience. Companies that can’t or won’t make the jump stand to see steady erosion in their customer base as business becomes increasingly social.
One final postscript: It’s been eight months since my Roomba 980 arrived and the new model is working like a charm. Sadly, my dog hasn’t learned to ride it yet (sorry, YouTube), but my floors have never been cleaner. For the latest on my Roomba adventure (and more), check out my social media newsletter.
