Consumers are relying more on sharing their customer care experiences through social media and new communications tools, according to a report by Nuance.

More than 70 percent of survey respondents use social media to learn about the customer care offered when considering a purchase. Nineteen percent of respondents rarely use social media to learn about customer care and 9 percent never do.

"What companies need to do is take a look at what's happening in the customer care operations and adjust," said Lynda Kate Smith, vice president and general manager of Nuance, Sunnyvale, CA.

This research study examined the links between social media, customer satisfaction, brand reputation and customer loyalty. The Society for New Communications Research designed the research to examine how customer care influences brand reputation given the widespread adoption of social media.

The study was conducted via a Web-based survey created by TWI Surveys Inc. and the SNCR research team.

Eighty-four percent of respondents said they consider the quality of customer care at least sometimes, while 16 percent said they rarely or never do.

Additionally, search engines were rated as very valuable sources of information about the customer care experience by 29 percent of respondents. Online rating systems were considered very valuable by 21 percent and discussion forums were very valuable to 17 percent.

What's interesting is some forms of social media are considered of no value as sources of information about customer care.

For example, those rated of no value include sites like Twitter or Pownce, YouTube and social networking destinations such as Facebook and MySpace.

A whopping 74 percent of respondents choose companies and brands based on others' customer care experiences shared online.

Eighty-one percent of respondents believe that blogs, rating systems and discussion forums can give consumers a greater voice in effecting changes in customer care.