White Papers      Webinars  Search

Register for our newsletter:

Posing as prospective buyers or subscribers of high-value products and services, eGain researchers contacted leading communications providers through email, showing an obvious intent to buy, and also evaluated the self-service capabilities offered by these businesses. The objectives were to assess the responsiveness and quality of email customer service, the range of web self-service options offered, and the ability to easily escalate to agent-assisted service, if necessary. The following key statistics emerged from the study:

* UK companies posted less than half the performance of North
American companies in email quality

o Only 19% of UK companies received an "above average" or
"exceptional" rating in email quality, compared to 55 % in North
America.

* Over three quarters of UK communications companies receive poor or below average ratings for e-mail responsiveness

o Only 15% of UK companies responded within 24 hours, compared to 55% in North America.

o A shocking 73% of the UK sample completely ignored customer emails compared to only 20% in North America. * But...The UK is closing the gap on North America for web self-service performance o 42% of the UK sample scored "above average" or "exceptional" in web self-service, compared to 55% in North America.

In the Forrester Research report 'The State of Service Provider Customer Service'[1] Sally M. Cohen and Chris Townsend, analysts at Forrester Research, write, "Service providers of all types-cablecos, telcos, satellite companies, and mobile carriers-face a mounting dilemma: The number of services that they offer is on the rise, resulting in increasingly complex and disparate customer service needs. At the same time, they want to trim service and support costs by encouraging customers to use Web self-service tools. Above all else, providers must optimise the service and support experience for their customers or risk losing subscribers to the competition."

Andrew Mennie, General Manager EMEA, comments, "Because of high subscriber churn and relentless product and service commoditisation in the communications sector delivering superior customer service through eService channels such as email and web self-service are key requirements to providing cost-effective customer service in today's volatile economic climate. Against a historic backdrop of having a poor reputation when it comes to customer service, it is crucial that service providers now invest in robust customer service management solutions that will not only help cut costs but also provide distinctive and seamless subscriber service experiences within and across all traditional channels such as the phone and the fast-growing electronic channels."