Recently, CSG Systems commissioned a study of 260 consumers nationwide between the ages of 24 – 49 with Frost & Sullivan to investigate consumer impact of positive and negative customer service, including:
- Identifying the positive and negative customer service experiences that drive consumers to take actions such as changing service providers, to recommending a service to a friend.
- Learning how customers receive communications from their cable operators today and which channels they are most likely to use when buying new products and services.
- Identifying customer willingness to share personal preference information and receive targeted advertising.
As expected the results provide a set of key insights that cable operators – and likely any customer-focused company – can leverage to improve service, retention and overall customer satisfaction.
First, the survey results tell us that delivering high-quality customer communications along with a positive customer care experience across multiple channels can greatly improve the ability to retain and grow a customer relationship. And while this may be a validation of widely-held belief, the survey also illustrates that the threshold for poor customer service experiences is low. In many cases, a customer will label a cable operator as a poor customer service provider after only one negative experience.
What this tells us is that if just one interaction can make or break a consumer’s opinion of their cable operator, it’s critical for the cable operator to not only deliver the right customer interactions, but also to deliver those interactions well across all channels – such as email, the call center, the set-top box and others – to maintain and/or expand the customer relationship.
Additionally, the survey reveals the impact social media technologies and tools can have on the total customer service experience. For example, more than 10% of respondents said they would write about a good customer service interaction on a social media site. However, this statistic nearly doubles for a bad customer service experience.
Additionally, social media and newer communication technologies are increasingly important – and preferred – as a means to communicating and up- and cross-selling. The study shows that consumers aged 24-29 are very tech savvy, and prefer the latest communication channels (SMS text messaging, social media networking sites, smart cell phone apps and blogs) to not only voice their pleasure or complaints, but also as channels for receiving contextual, personalized promotional offers.
In total, consumers have reported that the quality of care during just one interaction can make or break their opinion of their cable operator, so it’s critical to deliver a solid, informed, and consistent service experience – whether via the set-top box, email, the call center or other channels – ensure a cable operator is able to maintain and expand a positive business relationship.
For additional insights from the Customer Service Preferences Research Study of Cable Service Providers, please drop me a note. I would be happy to share additional results.
