Panelists sentiment suggests a lack of trust in Facebook’s ability to secure financial information
Nov 4, 2011 – Chicago, IL – A recent survey conducted by BillingViews (billingviews.com) found that 87 percent of tech-savvy consumers would not buy anything through Facebook.
The panel, consisting of 50 men and 50 women, all of whom are professionals in technology oriented disciplines, was surveyed in regards to their attitudes toward Social CRM, the practice among companies of using Facebook, or other social networks, to offer customer care, provide support, and sell products. The full results of the survey, part of BillingViews’ ongoing series on Social CRM in Communications, are available at billingviews.com.
The survey asked whether panelists would interact with their communications service providers through Facebook to buy something; pay a bill; resolve a problem; complain publicly; recommend their services; or none of the above. Respondents were invited to select any and all responses that applied. Only 13 percent of all respondents, 12 percent of men, and 14 percent of women responded that they would “buy something” through Facebook. 87 percent of all respondents did not select this option.
“This study suggests that Facebook has work to do to convince consumers that it will protect their personal financial information and transactions,” says Ed Finegold, Producer and Editor of BillingViews. “We set out to find attitudes on the use of Social CRM by communications providers, but were met with this consistent sentiment of distrust toward Facebook when it comes to money.”
Panelists voice trust and security issues regarding Facebook
Panelists were invited to provide additional comments on any aspect of the survey they wished. Of the 28 who commented, 13 – or 42 percent – stated specifically that they would not make any sort of purchases through Facebook because they do not trust it or do not believe it has sufficient security to protect transactions or personal financial information.
Comments from panelists included:
• “I pay bills online, but I don’t trust Facebook.”
• “I’m not too trusting of Facebook yet.”
• “When it comes to money, I don’t think you can trust Facebook.”
• “I don’t really trust Facebook.”
• “I don’t think I trust the security of Facebook to store credit cards…”
• “I don’t feel it is secure enough to actually execute a business transaction on.”
Additional findings from the survey include:
• 60 percent of those surveyed would recommend a communications provider’s services on Facebook, though women were more likely to do so than men.
• 58 percent of respondents, and an equal number of men and women, said they would use Facebook to complain publicly about their communications providers.
• 45 percent of respondents said they would use Facebook as a means to interact with their communications providers to solve a problem, though women were more likely to do so.
• 27 percent of respondents, a majority of which were men, said they would not use Facebook to interact with their communications providers.
About BillingViews
BillingViews is the global home for billing, payments, CRM, revenue assurance, and customer experience expertise and intelligence in the communications and media industries. BillingViews facilitates dialogue between executive level buyers and the greater communications and media IT marketplace regarding specific, timely topics through focused, agile, data-driven research and publications. BillingViews content is available free at billingviews.com..
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