Emplifi, a leading unified customer experience platform, has released, 11 key things consumers expect from their brand experiences today, a new report which reveals that the majority (90%) of UK consumers will leave a brand they were once loyal to after only two or three bad customer service experiences. One in five (20%) Brits would leave a brand after just one bad experience, with 45% of those surveyed admitting they had already left a brand in the past 12 months over a single poor customer experience.
The data shows that slow response time is the leading contributor to a negative experience for more than two in five (42%) UK consumers, followed by a lack of 24/7 customer service support (19%). Furthermore, nearly one in five (18%) Brits have had a bad experience due to a brand not sharing their values, with over a third (36%) willing to leave a brand due to lack of social responsibility.
Out of the UK consumers surveyed, the majority (53%) expect brands to respond to customer service inquiries via digital channels within an hour, while nearly one in 10 (8%) expect a response within five minutes. Almost a quarter (22%) expressed a preference for email communications, while 20% would prefer to communicate with brands via social media. In fact, 37% of Brits rate receiving excellent social media customer service as being very important when making a purchase. Meanwhile, 18% would still opt for visiting a physical store to access near-immediate support from a brand.
Encouragingly, more than half (56%) of UK consumers would also be willing to pay a premium price for an outstanding customer experience. Additionally, nearly a third (30%) of Brits believe it’s very important for brands to have a fully self-service customer care option available to resolve their issues.
“Our latest research confirms what we had already suspected – there’s a major disconnect between what UK consumers expect and what brands are delivering in terms of CX,” said Emplifi CXO Shellie Vornhagen. “British consumers are in a state of choice-overload and have too many options to stick around after a poor customer experience. So, delivering anything less than exceptional experiences can have a massive impact on a brand’s bottom line. The good news is that the technology needed to close this customer experience gap is readily available – from automated systems that quickly filter incoming queries to the relevant customer services team, to virtual assistants that can provide personalised responses with incredible speed and consistency. Brands that invest in superior CX platforms will outperform the competition every time.”