Social media applications like Twitter and Facebook have opened up a direct avenue of communication with retailers, their followers and friends. This massive audience can take whispers of discontent and retweet, share and discuss them to the extent they go viral, potentially turning into a public relations nightmare for a company that doesn’t address these comments quickly enough.

A recent article in Stores Magazine revealed that “a significant portion of tweets are sent by customers while they are in the store” seeking assistance. A failure to respond could result in a lost sale, unhappy customer or worse– negative attention.

A study conducted by Conversocial for the National Retail Federation measured the Twitter response time for the top 25 retailers who are active on social media. Using a Twitter profiler tool, Conversocial found that some companies respond to nearly every tweet, while others only comment on four to five percent. The research showed that about 50 percent of tweets required some sort of response, so companies only tweeting back to a small number of inquiries were missing out.

The fastest companies in the study were Wal-Mart, whose average response time clocked in at 17 minutes and 26 seconds, followed by Best Buy, (30:45) and Whole Foods Market (55:49).

The companies with the fastest response time have a dedicated customer service username monitored by employees. The best responses came from those whose social media team are directly tied into their customer service department.

Customers who voice concerns over social media are likely some of the most vocal and may have already tried the more traditional customer service numbers or emails. Responding quickly and productively to these types of Tweets or Facebook posts will help solidify customer loyalty and show the customer, their followers and online community that you care about their business.