The Service-Loyalty Connection
Customers want to hear from you. Really.
Earlier this week at the Genesys Telecom Lab’s G-Force customer conference, president and CEO Wes Hayden and Nicolas de Kouchkovsky, head of marketing and business development, revealed the results of the company’s 2006/7 Global Consumer Survey. According to the findings, customers are open to cross-sell, but using different media based on the context and if the offer is relevant. What percent of the 4,500 consumers surveyed said this? 95 percent. Wow.
In fact, 89 percent of respondents expect proactive communications from companies. But, they don’t always expect it to be a “sales call.” Eighty-five percent said they would have a more positive opinion of a company they buy from after receiving a courtesy call from that firm.
As much as customers love phone interaction, 86 percent say they also want to communicate via email, and 45 percent say it’s their preferred method of communication. Additionally, 28 percent like the option of Web chat. Interestingly, while 17 percent of the respondents globally say they would like SMS notifications, only 2 percent of Americans concurred.
Customers also want to be able to reach you.
More than three quarters of respondents say they feel pushed to use self-service instead of speaking with an agent, and 66 percent say they react negatively when pushed this way. In fact, 76 percent fell less loyal or will take their business elsewhere if they feel pushed to use self-service when preferring to speak to an agent.
Although self-service is an important option to offer customers, beware pushing customers to use it and be sure to deliver a compelling customer experience whether that experience is via self- or assisted service. Why? According to the survey, 40 percent of consumers have stopped doing business with a company due to a poor contact center experience, and what’s more, 38 percent say that service makes the biggest impact on their loyalty to a company.
Leave a comment