Earlier this month we looked at how some of the larger telecommunications companies in the UK were faring in social media. The levels of engagement as well as the way in which their outreach was received varied considerably from company to company. Generally one would expect companies that are driven by technology, like BT, O2 and Vodafone, to be active in social media, but we wondered how this translated to other industries.

To this end we undertook some research analysing the reputation of ten water and sewerage companies in social media over a three-month period. We found that while OFWAT, the Water Services Regulation Authority, measured the companies on security of supply, customer service and environmental impact, this is largely done through traditional methods. Using our own team of social media analysts we decided to measure the same key areas as expressed and captured throughout social media. Our in-depth Industry Insight Report includes a rigorous analysis of:

• engagement levels amongst the companies
• share of voice
• sentiment towards these companies
• competitor  reviews and;
• key recommendations.

Our Water Industry report includes the following key insights:

• The spectrum of Social Net Promoter Scores (SNPS) was extremely broad. Across the ten companies reviewed the highest and most positively regarded Wessex and Northumbrian scored +56% and +40% respectively and the lowest scored -20%.
• We also found that environmentally conscious programs were of particular interest to social media users and tended to cultivate a positive response.
• Blogs and micro media (predominantly Twitter) were the dominant locations for discussion. However forums were also an important place for exchanges, hosting a significant proportion of negative sentiment towards several companies.
• Evidence of engagement with consumers was low over the monitored period. In fact our research found that customer service issues relating to the companies accounted for the lowest SNPS for all of the companies reviewed.

Our monitoring captured over 2,300 mentions of customer service issues. While such conversations can be controlled and tended to within social media to a good extent if companies were to engage, our research showed that most were noticeably silent.  Although various key players within the water industry might be monitoring social media, they remain disengaged rather than proactive. All of the 10 water companies reviewed scored an SNPS below +20% on customer services, and six scored a negative SNPS. Clearly more attention needs to be given to customer service. Proactive outreach within social media should factor in both company policy as well as future OFWAT assessment.

If this has sparked your interest and you would like to review the research in further detail you can order the full report by contacting info@6consulting.co.uk .