Excellence at Work | Dr. Kendra Fowler

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — In this episode of “Excellence at Work,” Dr. Kendra Fowler, Youngstown State University associate professor of management and marketing, discusses her study on brand-to-business interactions on social media.

Fowler partnered with Veronica Thomas, an assistant professor of marketing at Towson University.

“There’s a lot of research for how to interact with your customers over social media, but there’s not a lot of research for how to interact with other businesses,” Fowler said. “But they’re starting to do it. You’re starting to see a lot of businesses interact with each other.”

Fowler and Thomas published “Turn the Other Cheek or and Eye for an Eye: Exploring Brand-to-Brand Dialog on Social Media.” In the study, Fowler found that taking an “nice” approach will lead to better customer perception. But some businesses, such as Wendy’s, can get away with more snarky interactions.

“I, personally, would feel better and go the safe route and just staying nice — funny but nice,” she said. “But again, it gives you the leeway to up the game if you want to.”

For more of the Excellence at Work happening at YSU, visit YSU.edu.

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