In a report titled, “Digital disconnect in customer engagement”, Accenture Strategy brings to light the findings of consumer behavior perspectives when it comes to customer service. This report is based on the company’s eleventh annual Global Consumer Pulse Research, which used experiences of 24,489 customers in 33 countries, across 11 industries (550 samples were from India). The report contemplates about how effectively digital involvement has solved various customer problems. The final verdict of the report published said, “even in the “digital age,” human interaction remains a vital component of customer satisfaction”
Reliance on digital technologies has resulted in “human-less” customer services, says the report, which predominantly focused on the US customers, stated that human interaction is the key for successful brands.
Here are a few key statistics
| Parameters | USA | India |
| Consumers prefer dealing with human beings than digital channels | 83% | 54% |
| Consumers having switched brands due to poor consumer service | 52% | 88% |
| Consumers say they are even willing to pay a higher price for goods and services if it ensures a better level of service. | 45% | 63% |
| In-store service is the best channel for getting a tailored experience | 65% | 51% |
| Consumers willing to be sold new or upgraded products when receiving a face-to-face service compared to online | NA | 49% |
| Customers would rather go to a store first than use digital channels to get advice on the best products and services. | NA | 44% |
| Consumers admit that it is frustrating dealing with a company that does not make it easy to do business with them | NA | 57% |
| Consumers expect customer service to be easier and more convenient | 73% | 65% |
| Consumers want it to be faster | 61% | 83% |
| Once a provider loses a customer, Consumers not willing to move back | 68% | 52% |
| ‘Switchers’ feel the company could have done something to retain them | 80% | 81% |
| Companies could provide customers with better live or in-person customer service, it would have impacted their decision to switch provider | 83% | 74% |
The cost the companies have to bear due to consumer switching for US companies for their poor performance works out to $1.6 trillion, while for Indian companies, it is $412 billion. However, it was also found that 88% of the Indian customers would change their brand, if frustrated by poor service. Mostly seen in Internet service providers, retailers and banks were the worst offenders.
Everything that can be digitalized, may cut down costs for the companies but again can prove to be ineffective in retaining customers. More involvement of human beings means more accumulation of goodwill.
Explaining the how futile the trend of digitalizing most consumer services is, Raghuram Devarakonda, MD of Accenture Strategy said, “Companies wrongly assume that their digital-only customers are their most profitable, and that customer service is a cost. Consequently they over-invest in digital technologies and channels and lose their most profitable customers, multi-channel customers, who want experiences that cover both digital and traditional channels.”
So the magic sauce in being a profitable company with strong customer base is the proportion of the following mentioned ingredients
- Bring back the workforce to deliver more smiles on customer’s faces. Focus on creating experiences rather than making digital interactions.
- Make the transition of digital to human interactions less cumbersome.
- Keep customer data confidential and make it a point to customize company products to suit customer needs. Do not sell customer data.
Famous leadership management guru and the best selling author of “The Monk who sold his Ferrari” also reinstates the importance of customers in one of his books. He writes, “If you’re in business, one of the most important things I invite you to consider is that people don’t buy with their heads so much as with their hearts. The competition in today’s marketplace is not for customers’ money. Not at all. How does walking into your favorite restaurant and being greeted like Diddy or Madonna make you feel? You get my point.”