Poor customer service is costing UK businesses £15.3 BILLION!!!!!!
That's according to a new report called 'The Cost of Poor Customer Service: The Economic Impact of the Customer Experience' which was sponsored by Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories. The survey suggests that 73% of consumers ended a relationship due to poor service and that the root causes are:
- Having to repeat information (that's 'having to repeat information' (sorry, couldn't resist!)
- Feeling trapped in automated self - service
- Having to wait too long
- Interacting with staff who have no knowledge of the service history (or customer value)
- Unable to easily switch between communication channels
Customers were also asked to identify the factors that make the biggest difference in improving satisfaction levels, and the result appears to be that satisfaction increases when companies meet four key needs:
- Competency
- Convenience
- Proactive engagement
- Personalisation
You could argue that there's nothing new there, and that might be true, but if it's costing £15.3 billion a year then it could be it's definitely worth repeating and reinforcing regularly. It might also be worth taking a bit of time out and looking at your own business 'objectively'.
So, why not have a look at these key questions and consider how you measure up? Rate yourself out of 10 against each question and importantly, identify what you need to do about it. Why not get your colleagues to do it too, and get this stuff 'on the agenda':
- How 'competent' are our people?
- How well do they know their stuff?
- How good are we at 'demonstrating' that to our customers?
- How easy are we to buy from and deal with?
- How effective are we at 'proactively' engaging with our customers?
- How do we encourage 'engagement' with our customers?
- How good are we at doing it in a way that works for our customers, not the way that's easiest for us?
- How good are we at 'peronalising' things for our customers?
- How effective are we at making customers 'feel' that it's personalised?
- How do we know the real answers to these questions?
The reason I've put these questions together is that a lot of us will read those 4 factors 'Competency', 'Convenience', 'Proactive Engagement' and 'Personalisation' and nod in agreement, and say 'Yes Andy, that all makes sense'.
The challenge is not just about agreeing with those four things, it's not even about doing those four things. It's about ensuring that your customers are aware that you're doing them!
(And finally, a quick hint: Answer to question 10: Find out what your customers say!).
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