The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) measures customer satisfaction across different industries and releases results monthly to bring stakeholders in-depth coverage of various sectors of the economy.
In previous years, the ACSI has measured the customer satisfaction rates of Facebook and YouTube, but this year, it has added Facebook competitors for the first time, including Twitter, Pinterest, Linkedin, and Google+ (G+ or Google Plus).
So who came out on top for customer satisfaction? Did you say Google+? Because it most certainly was. With a score of 78 out of 100, it came up 17 points stronger than Facebook’s score of 61 (down 7.6% since last year). LinkedIn and Twitter were only a few points above Facebook with scores of 63 and 64, respectively.
The Big Winners For Google+
ACSI points out that some components of Google+ keep users incredibly faithful:
- Protection of user privacy
- Clean interface without ads in prime space
- Superior mobile presence
There are still not nearly as many users on Google+ as there are on Facebook or Twitter, but those that are there seem to be happy there – a lot happier than the other social networks.
But Why Is Facebook Down There?
ACSI offers that privacy issues and a user interface overladen with ads is partly to blame for Facebook’s low score. It points out that the drop in Facebook’s score coincides with the introduction of the Timeline redesign:
Facebook’s drop coincides with the release of its Timeline profile, a significant change to the look and organization of its pages. Users complain that they cannot opt out of the new profile design. The big drop in user satisfaction—coming on the heels of Facebook’s somewhat disorderly IPO—doesn’t bode well for reversing the company’s sliding stock price.
Interesting. We’ve talking for the past year about the user experience, customer engagement, and the need for mobile strategy. Connect with us — we’ve got plenty more to say and want to hear your opinions as well. iQuarius on Google+ and Facebook.