Customer service is critical for organisations across every industry. Consumers are now demanding the same high levels of service, whatever type of company they are dealing with. This means that they expect a utility or bank to provide a similar experience to a retailer – and are not shy at complaining if they don’t receive the service they want.This equally applies to the public secto...
As an industry, the travel sector has been radically changed by the internet. More and more journeys, whether by air or rail, are booked online, and the rise of social media and review sites has provided consumers with the opportunity to give their views on the service they receive. Passengers and guests are consequently becoming more and more demanding when it comes to the customer experience.Rec...
Over the past four years Eptica has been benchmarking the UK customer experience by evaluating 100 leading brands on their ability to provide answers to routine questions via the web, email, Twitter and web chat.
In 2011 Gartner predicted that by 2020, 85% of customer relationships would be run without human intervention. At the time it seemed a startling target, but in just four years self-service has become the norm for many transactions. For example, how many of us actually phone or visit a bank branch? And if we do, it tends to be just to pay in or take out money through a machine. ...
Social media has radically changed the relationship between brands and consumers. Today customers increasingly expect companies to quickly answer questions and queries via social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. Additionally, they are accustomed to leaving feedback through reviews sites such as TripAdvisor and Yelp. In fact, a J.D. Power study found that two thirds of customers who contacted...
If you ask consumers to list their main issues with poor customer service then receiving inaccurate, incomplete or plain wrong answers are normally at or near the top. Whatever channel they contact you through; consumers want a response that shows you understand their query and an answer that solves their problem. However, contacting a company can often resemble a lucky dip, with consumers re...
In a world that continues to get busier, customers increasingly value convenience and speed when interacting with companies. Whether it is buying from a local shop because it is easier than getting in the car and driving to an out of town supermarket, or banking via a smartphone or tablet, people want a seamless experience that minimizes the time they need to spend on activities.
Digital channels bring new opportunities and challenges to retail businesses. Unlike in a physical shop it can be difficult to predict demand, making it more complex to ensure that you can scale to meet customer needs. Fail to deliver the right experience and consumers will simply move elsewhere, reducing sales and impacting profits.This is particularly true at Christmas. It may be the busiest tim...
The Institute of Customer Service’s latest six monthly UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) reveals the lowest figures since 2010 – and marks the fourth consecutive fall in customer satisfaction levels.The overall Index fell from 76.3 in July 2014 to 76.0 in January 2015 – in January 2013 it was 78.2. No fewer than 58% of the organisations (113 brands) in UKCSI have seen their ...
Delivering superior customer service is an increasing challenge for all. Companies need to cover more and more channels while meeting continually growing demands from consumers, often with no corresponding increase in budgets. No wonder that the temptation can be to re-allocate scarce resources away from traditional channels such as email in order to focus more heavily on the likes of social media...