Social Listening and E‑WOM: Assessing the Role of Customer Mentions in Nigerian Bank Service Innovation

The rise of digital transformation has reshaped customer engagement in the Nigerian banking
sector, making social listening and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) essential tools for service
innovation. Social listening involves monitoring and analysing online conversations to extract
insights into customer perceptions, sentiments, and emerging trends. Similarly, eWOM leverages
customer-generated content, such as reviews and social media posts, to shape brand reputation
and influence consumer behaviour. This paper is a conceptual narrative review that examines how
social listening and electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) influence service innovation in the
Nigerian banking sector. Despite increasing digital engagement in Nigeria’s banking sector,
limited scholarly attention has been paid to industry-wide adoption of social listening and
customer mention analytics as strategic tools for service innovation. This creates a gap in
understanding how Nigerian banks can systematically transform customer-generated online
conversations into actionable service improvements and innovation outcomes. This paper
examines the role of customer mentions in driving service innovation within Nigerian banks,
highlighting the value of proactive engagement in enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Evidence shows that banks such as GTBank and Access Bank have begun adopting social
listening strategies to monitor feedback, manage crises, and co-create services with customers.
However, industry-wide adoption remains limited due to challenges such as data overload,
misinterpretation of slang and sarcasm, fake reviews, and ethical concerns surrounding privacy.
The study concludes that systematic use of customer mentions through social listening and
eWOM can transform scattered feedback into actionable intelligence for product refinement,
policy adjustments, and improved service delivery. Recommendations include institutionalising
social listening frameworks, investing in skilled analysts and AI-powered tools, creating rapidresponse protocols, and strengthening ethical practices. Overall, the integration of customer
feedback mechanisms into decision-making processes positions Nigerian banks to remain
competitive in a digital-first financial landscape.