Businesses that advertise on Facebook will soon be assigned a customer satisfaction score. The scores, expected to have a full rollout by the end of Q1, range from zero to five and can impact a page’s ad cost and delivery performance. Consistently poor customer feedback will result in penalty periods (some lasting upward of six months) where ads will cost more and reach fewer people during that time.
How is a customer satisfaction score generated?
In June of 2018, Facebook began collecting feedback from customers who had interacted with or purchased products from a company whose ads they had been delivered. The feedback asks users to rate their satisfaction with the company by selecting a smiley, neutral, or disappointed face. Alternatively, users can actively provide feedback by selecting an ad from their history in the Ads Activity tab and completing a more detailed questionnaire about their experience.
How are score penalties implemented?
Once a page has access to their customer satisfaction dashboard, they can view their score as well as individual comments left by customers. If the page score falls under three, ads associated with the corresponding ad account will see an increase in cost and a decrease in reach.
According to information provided to AdvertiseMint, “If a business maintains a low score, Facebook will increase penalties each month until that score is improved. If the score drops to one or less, the business will be unable to run ads on Facebook’s platform.”
What can I do to improve my customer satisfaction score?
While little is known about how pages will be able to combat unfair or biased feedback, screenshots of the dashboard reveal several tips on maintaining high scores via Facebook. In full, these include:
Set better expectations with your customers: “Low customer satisfaction ratings are often caused by a mismatch in customer expectations and what they experience. This includes making sure the product matches what’s depicted in your ads, and that shipping times displayed are accurate. Honor any return and exchange policies advertised on your website. If you're operating in a different time zone than your customers, be clear about how long it takes to reply back to customer inquiries.”
Be clear about what you’re selling or offering: “Pictures, videos and all other ad creative should accurately represent what’s being sold. Ensure dimensions, sizes, materials and all other aspects of your product are accurately shown and stated. If you're selling apparel, ensure the size charts you're using work for other countries you're selling to (ex, United States sizing may be different than sizing in China).”
Ensure the quality of goods from suppliers: “If you’re sourcing goods from suppliers, ensure you maintain quality control and that the goods are shipped on time and as stated on your website and ads.”
Set clear expectations for shipping: “Door-to-door shipping time should be accurately conveyed. The shipping information you provide should be inclusive of processing times, item availability, shipping costs and any other factors that may impact the amount of time an item takes to ship. If possible, provide tracking information about the shipment so that the customer can track their package.”
Make sure you can meet customer demand: “Scale your advertising with your businesses' ability to deliver products. If your inventory is limited, you may want to consider running fewer ads, or make it clear to customers before they purchase when the products are expected to be in stock and shipped. Be proactive about telling customers when you can't fulfill what was promised (ex, you've run out of inventory, and it will now take longer than expected to replace an order).”
Why are customer satisfaction scores important?
Aside from the obvious consequences related to ad costs, customer satisfaction scores provide a new opportunity to hold businesses accountable for the customer service they provide and the promises made in their advertising.
For the first time, a clear connection will be made between Facebook pages, ad accounts, and physical businesses. If any part of that thread delivers a bad experience (say a social media manager takes too long to reply to a Facebook message, or a sales rep is rude during a telephone call), it could harm the social advertising component and affect the company’s bottom line. That’s a big deal, but if a business is dedicated to its customers in the first place, they shouldn’t have anything to worry about.
With the promise of more information in the coming month, Facebook’s Social Media Marketing Lead, Wes Finley, said: “This enforcement rewards businesses that offer superior service and high-quality products as they face less competition in the delivery auction and benefit from higher consumer trust overall.”
