Twitter-Mediated Enterprise–Customer Communication: Case of Electricity Distribution Services in a Developing Country

Abstract

Studies have shown that electric power supply failures can induce customers’ use of media for electric power–related communications. Nigeria is a country with considerably active users of social media but also with incessant electric power outages. However, no known study has been carried out on Nigeria’s electric power–related communications based on social media data. The present study investigated comparatively, the behaviors of companies and customers, in their use of Twitter for enterprise–customer communication on electric power distribution services in Nigeria. Using the data-driven science methods, the study revealed that both companies and customers use Twitter to disseminate information on electric power distribution in Nigeria. Companies’ corpora feature higher percentages of retweets while customers’ corpora feature higher percentages of direct public responses (@replies). The study also revealed a disjoint in the expectations of the companies and customers in their use of Twitter for communicating electric power distribution matters. While companies appear to leverage on the information sharing ability of the medium, customers appear to perceive it as a tool for accessing improved service delivery. The study recommends that Nigeria’s electric power distribution companies should incorporate Twitter into the customer service operation of their companies. This will enable information to get to the set of people who will process customers’ complaints as soon as possible.