85% of survey respondents who had a bad experience with a company also told their friends and colleagues about it
Here are some highlights from a survey by Convergys:
The late ’90s mantra of “Show me the money” has morphed into “Show me the value,” reflecting a new focus by consumers hungry for value in all its forms, according to Convergys’ recently completed 2010 Consumer Scorecard Research study *. UK consumers want the companies with which they do business to value them, value their time, value their money, and value their preferences, say the study findings, released today by Convergys.
“Today’s consumer expectations are clear. They expect good value for their money and timely acknowledgement and resolution of their issues by knowledgeable employees,” said Jim Boyce, President, Global Sales and Services for Convergys. “It is more apparent than ever that consumers are willing to take their business elsewhere when their needs are not met. At the same time, companies that have the customer service mechanisms in place to give their customers what they want are the companies that will retain and even grow their market share.”
– Value my money: Recession-weary consumers are not just looking for the lowest cost, but the best value in their customer transactions. 64% of survey respondents chose “good value for the money” as the second most important customer service attribute, up significantly from 2008. 30% of respondents rated reliable service as more important than price in their definition of what constitutes “good value for money.” Only 5% of customers defined good value as “paying the lowest price.”
Despite consumers’ clear preferences for value and efficient issue resolution, bad customer experiences continue to frustrate consumers, 51% of whom reported having a bad experience with a company, a slight decrease from 2008. In response, today’s value-minded consumer is more likely to speak with his or her wallet: 49% of the survey respondents who had a bad experience reported that they stopped doing business with that company, up from 44% in 2008.
Those who stay are more likely to seek and expect resolution from a company when they do not receive the service and value they expect. Survey respondents reported that they informed companies of their bad experiences 66% of the time, up from 63% in 2008. Companies that were not equipped to resolve or respond to customer complaints paid the price in customer defections. 59% of survey respondents who reported a bad experience and did not receive a response from the company stopped doing business with the offending party, as did 53% of respondents who received a response without resolution.
85% of survey respondents who had a bad experience with a company also told their friends and colleagues about it, spreading the word through face-to-face chats, e-mails, text messages and social media, which has immense power to amplify the voice of the frustrated consumer widely among a company’s customers and potential customers. Interestingly, this trend did not belong just to the social media savvy Millennial, but stretched across all of the age groups surveyed.
Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra) – Speaking of value . . . will it blend?
