ICG member Andrew Smith – Firebrand Insight – reveals results from this year’s latest Customer Service Trends report.
Our recently published annual customer service trends report, driven by a 1,000 adult sample across the UK, contains a wealth of information used mainly by regulators and energy companies. A few findings of more general interest reveal:
- General wellbeing indices (UK economic prospects, personal prosperity, job security and savings intentions) are more cautious than 12 months ago. In part this may reflect the recent Brexit stalemate
- Main utility switching levels remain at broadly similar levels to 2018, although energy switches have climbed slightly. Electricity/gas and car/home insurance are by far the most likely utilities to be switched
- Price comparison websites (PCWs) are very established for switching searches and decisions. Annual checking is the most popular frequency for home and car insurance, although around 1 in 5 now check for deals more regularly than yearly for many other products
- Whilst PCWs remain widely used and trusted, 3 in 10 have concerns about whether they show the complete range of suppliers, and how personal data might be used
- Sharing experiences of good and poor products or service is consistently widespread: on both measures about 3 in 4 people say they ‘normally do this’
- In the last year 43% left negative feedback on any website or blog, whilst half left any positive comments – underlining just how willing we have become to share our experiences, good or poor
- About 1 in 5 are at least occasionally involved in social media discussions with brands or companies. However there is wide variation in engagement level by age group, ranging from 36% amongst 18-24s to only 6% of those aged 65 plus
- Being left too long on hold and dealing over the phone with those for whom English is not their native language scored highest from a wide range of potential customer service issues listed – the latter scoring especially highly amongst older adults. However, over the last decade moans about specific aspects of service have decreased across the board, and overall service satisfaction, despite expectations increasing, is much improved.
The survey is produced with sample from the Research Now panel, and data analytics and hosting from fellow ICG member Survey Mechanics.
Full details and pricing are available here https://www.firebrandinsight.co.uk/customers-in-britain