Forrester's Bruce Temkin: Customer Service Attracts Loyal Customers
In a new Forrester Research report called Service Seekers Are More Loyal Than Price Seekers (based on a survey of about 4,600 US consumers), we analyze the loyalty of four consumer segments that I've previously discussed.
The report examines the loyalty of these segments across 12 industries: airlines, banks, wireless providers, credit card providers, hotels, insurance firms, Internet service providers, investment firms, health plans, PC manufacturers, retailers, and TV service providers. Across all industries and consumer segments, I analyzed three areas of loyalty: willingness to buy more products, reluctance to switch from current providers, and likelihood to recommend providers to friends and colleagues.
Here are some of the interesting findings from the analysis:
- Across all 12 industries and all 3 measures of loyalty, Service Seekers are more loyal than Price Seekers.
- In all 12 industries, the most loyal segment is either Service Seekers or Price & Service Seekers.
- In 10 of the 12 industries, Service Seekers are the most reluctant to switch away from their current provider.
- The gap between loyal Service Seekers and loyal Price Seekers is at least 20% in the following areas:
o Willingness to buy: Credit card providers, TV service providers, Internet service providers, airlines, and insurance providers.
o Reluctance to switch: Airlines, TV service providers, insurance providers, and hotels.
o Likelihood to recommend: TV service providers, credit card providers, medical insurers, Internet service providers, and insurance providers.
- The gap between loyal Service Seekers and loyal Price Seekers is lower than 10% in only the following areas:
o Willingness to buy: Banks, investment firms, and retailers.
o Likelihood to recommend: Retailers, banks, and PC manufacturers.
o The bottom line: Good customer service attracts more loyal customers.
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Bruce Temkin is a Vice President, Principal Analyst at Forrester Research where he serves Customer Experience professionals. Bruce blogs at Customer Experience Matters. Reprinted with permission of the author.
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