GDS International - Next - Generation - Customer - Experience - Summit - US - 1 - 1

US RESEARCH REPORT 2011

http://www.thunderhead.com

BACKGROUNDThe purpose of the Thunderhead Customer Engagement Survey was to gauge to what extent key service providers are using the information and resources available to them to engage with their customers as individuals. Approximately 6000 US consumers of gas, cable, mobile telecoms, banking, insurance and landline phone services were asked a range of questions in the following categories: The communications options available to consumers The extent to which services providers are

personalizing communications The degree of satisfaction with the

communications received The extent to which communications take account

of previous correspondence and preferences The level of adoption and new

communications technologies

What is clear from the results is that there are high levels of apathy and general dissatisfaction among US consumers – they understand the communications avenues and technologies available to them, and they expect service providers to meet their expectations with regard to engagement. When they instead are confronted with a ‘one size fits all’ approach, their discontent is evident. Welcome to the world of The Disconnected Customer.

PREFERENCE UNRECOGNIZEDIn the examination of engagement between service providers and their customers, the research revealed that 51% of consumers felt that marketing materials from their service providers are ill-targeted and aimed at a mass audience, and 39% of respondents said that they remain unconvinced that the company cares about their account specifically, despite the marketing materials they’ve received.

Although the dissatisfaction is inherent across all the sectors polled, some sectors do have happier customers than others. For example while 57% of cable customers think providers consistently ignore consumer preference for communication and send materials through the provider’s preferred channel instead, the figure plummets to 40% for banking customers.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF THE DISCONNECTED CUSTOMER

“ These survey results…. demonstrate the importance and value of interacting with your customers in a personalized way.”

Service providers are missing an opportunity here – 57% of respondents see email as a useful and efficient way to keep on top of their accounts and would prefer to communicate that way, but only 28% have indicated that their providers actually use email to communicate with them.

The difference is likely to be accounted for by an apparent lack of intelligence gathering. Only 42% of respondents could recall being asked which communications channel they prefer and only 16% recalled being asked for frequency preferences. And just 16% agreed that their service providers have actually taken their preferences into account and only sent information at intervals they had already specified.

OPPORTUNITY UNREALIZEDThe value of personalized communications cannot be understated – 78% of people polled indicated that they would likely renew their contract with their service provider if they received an incentive that was personal and relevant to them. John McGee, Thunderhead President and Chief Operating Officer, believes that service providers have a great opportunity in front of them:

“Today’s communications environment is much more complex than it was even five years ago – between more technologically savvy consumers who demand more personalized communications, and growing government oversight requiring increased transparency to maintain compliance, firms need to invest in tools that will help them to be both compliant and in tune with the demands of their customers.

“These survey results are delivering a powerful message, and they demonstrate the importance and value of interacting with your customers in a personalized way. 52% of everyone we polled actually agreed that they would have a better opinion of their service providers if those providers were more aware of the matters and activity on their accounts. This is an easy step companies can take to increase their customers’ satisfaction and gain a competitive advantage. The opportunity is here – now, it is just up to service providers to take that next step forward.”

John McGee, President and COO, Thunderhead

www.disconnectedcustomer.com01

THE THUNDERHEAD CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT SURVEY: US RESEARCH REPORT

Twitter: #disconnected2011

http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23disconnected2011

RESEARCH FINDINGS


51% of respondents agree that the marketing materials they receive are not personalized to them

52% of respondents agree that they would have a better opinion of their service providers if those providers showed better awareness of matters relating to their accounts

50% of respondents agree that their service providers communicate without regard to the customer’s preferences

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RESEARCH FINDINGS


77% of respondents do not have much contact (i.e. face to face, email etc.) with their providers beyond offers and bills that they receive in the mail

49% believe that their service providers don’t know them at all, based on their communications with the companies

Only 31% of respondents have ever had a provider ask for their preferences regarding the way they would like to receive bills, statements or policy information

73%

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RESEARCH FINDINGS


Only 16% of respondents have ever had a provider ask for their preferences regarding how frequently they would like to receive bills, statements or policy information

57% of respondents indicate that email is the most useful and efficient way for them to receive information about their accounts

39% of respondents believe that, based on the marketing materials and communications they receive, their service providers don’t care about them

21%

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RESEARCH FINDINGS


SURVEY FIGURES All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Landline: Total sample size was 1034 US adults

responsible for paying the household landline telephone bill Gas: Total sample size was 1038 US adults

responsible for paying the household gas bill Cable: Total sample size was 1048 US adults

responsible for paying the household cable bill Bank: Total sample size was 1038 US adults

with a joint or personal bank account

Insurance: Total sample size was 1031 US adults responsible for paying an insurance bill/ premium Mobile: Total sample size was 1036 US adults

responsible for paying a mobile phone bill

Each survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all US adults (aged 18+). Fieldwork was undertaken December 2010.

Only 14% of respondents think their service providers consistently recognize their specific preferences

65% of respondents would be willing to go back to a service provider after a negative experience, if they received an apology

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CONCLUSIONSAlthough it is unlikely a consumer will choose a new service provider based solely on the quality and relevance of information received, the tipping point for an existing customer choosing to stay or switch is very likely to be affected by communications from their incumbent provider.

The way an organization engages with its customers can be hugely influential in building brand advocacy. By listening to their customers’ preferences, adjusting the content, language and tone and using the consumer’s medium of choice (print or digital), brand advocacy can only improve. The only reason the Disconnected Customer exists is because the legacy technologies still used by many in the sector are simply incapable of meeting the need.

RECOMMENDATIONS Service providers should look towards developing

multi-channel communication engagement strategies with the goal of providing improved customer engagement across all available channels Service providers need to look at replacing inefficient

technologies and processes to drive down costs and create longer lasting, higher value customer relationships by using technologies that enable them to manage and adjust templates according to specific activity on a particular account

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF THE DISCONNECTED CUSTOMER

“ ……Firms need to invest in tools that will help them to be both compliant and in tune with the demands of their customers.”

ABOUT THUNDERHEADThunderhead changes the way companies engage with their customers, enabling measurement and learning from every interaction to drive greater loyalty and profitability.

Our innovative business user-driven software, Thunderhead NOW, delivers new levels of personalization, context and compliance with true multi-channel capability – the right information, to the right person, at the right time, in the right format.

In 2001, experienced entrepreneur Glen Manchester had a disarmingly simple idea – to provide better customer communications. Over the next two years, Glen and his team built the software to bring the vision alive; today, Thunderhead is a leading provider of multi-channel customer communications software, for both high volume and ad hoc document generation.

The Thunderhead NOW platform is a single, integrated solution offering a unique combination of user-centric design, open standards-based core and broad, enterprise capabilities. Significantly reducing dependency on IT – and the associated cost and time constraints – it enables business users to create and manage personalized and transaction-driven communications which can then be delivered by any number of media channels – including print, fax, web, email, SMS and industry-specific XML schemas.

Servicing our rapidly expanding customer base from offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, we have insurance, retail banking, government and capital market customers around the world. They optimize their customer engagement – we help them make every communication count. www.thunderhead.com

www.disconnectedcustomer.comTwitter: #disconnected201106


To request a briefing on the research findings, including detailed geographic and demographic analysis, email:[email protected]

John McGee, President and COO, Thunderhead

mailto:disconnectedcustomer%40thunderhead.com?subject=


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GDS International - Next - Generation - Customer - Experience - Summit - US - 1 - 1