Browsing by Author "Mbuya, Abraham Lazaro"

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    The role of social media in improving customer relations: a case study of vodacom (t) and tigo (t) facebook wall pages
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 2015) Mbuya, Abraham Lazaro
    This study was conducted in Dar es Salaam and involved Tigo and Vodacom communication companies. The study focused on the role of social media in improving customer relation and the challenges consumers face when using Vodacom (T) and Tigo (T) Facebook Pages. The study used content analysis to analyse 258 customers’ posts on Vodacom (T) and Tigo (T) Facebook Wall pages. The posts cover the August - October 2013 period. Key informant interviews were conducted with purposively selected Tigo (T) and Vodacom Facebook social media platform administrators and ten customers to understand the extent to which social media helps to improve customer relations. Inter-coder agreement was used to calculate the level of agreement by the two independent coders on the customer posts. Key findings reveal that respondents use Tigo and Vodacom social media platforms to channel complaints, in addition to getting updates and information on new products and services offered by the two companies. Findings further reveal that customers often receive feedback from Vodacom and Tigo but the response time varies. For example, Tigo's response time is below thirty minutes and Vodacom's response time is more than one hour. This does not mean that companies listen or care about their customers or use the queries or criticisms to improve their services and products. Each of the companies has a policy that allows for deletion of customer posts considered objectionable or offensive. The study recommends that Tigo and Vodacom should allocate adequate resources to promote usage and sustainability of social media platforms. In addition, Vodacom should recruit adequate staff to improve efficiency and meet customers’ expectations. The study further recommends that the government should invest in internet infrastructure and should create a National Social Media policy aimed at fostering freedom of expression, freedom of access and human rights.