Accenture recently conducted its ninth annual Global Consumer Pulse Survey, which covers 12,800 customers in 32 countries across 10 industries. This year's survey took a close look at the impact of customers switching providers, which leaves a potential $1.3 trillion (with a T) in revenue on the table, essentially up for grabs to whichever company can woo them away. While this may sound like customers are wishy-washy or inherently disloyal, Wollan says in fact customers are learning to be disloyal by repeated failures by service providers to anticipate their changing needs and the inability to solve "old school" customer service problems. Accenture Sales & Customer Services global managing director Robert Wollan shared his insights on this year's survey and the root causes of this "switching economy".
Consulting: How would you characterize consumers' attitudes towards the current level of service they receive?
Wollan: It would be easy to say customers are fickle. That they're switching more regularly, and that they're almost a disconnected or disloyal base. But the real answer looking across industries and geographies is a very different picture. You see a picture of a customer who frankly wants to stay. Some 82 percent of customers say a company could have done something to keep them. They want to stay. They objections they're raising are outdated issues we should have solved years ago. So we're training customers to be disloyal. Training them to switch slowly but surely over time as opposed to finding a customer that wants to stay loyal, wants consistency of execution and wants capabilities that matter to them more broadly.
Consulting: How has customer behavior changed?
Wollan: Customers' expectations continue to rise every year. Which means if you're trying to solve a problem you couldn't get to or didn't fund 2 to 3 years ago, people are having a hard time catching up. So they never quite get ahead of the expectations that are rising every year we see that as a very important trend. We still see issues of customers being frustrated waiting too long on hold and being transferred around to many people to solve their problem. That's a 1990s problem, but it's still an issue that hasn't been addressed. Third is the disruptive force you'd expect across industries, meaning as one expectation becomes normal and natural in one industry it starts showing up in another. Like how package companies can tell you anywhere in the world where that little letter is at any moment. Customers now start to say, 'Where's that insurance claim?' And they say 'It's in process'. Those are no longer acceptable answers. Old stuff that hasn't been solved for, rising expectations combined with an expectation leak that's going on by consumers. It's not a fair fight but it is the model we're in today.
Consulting: What can companies do to scoop up some of that $1.3 trillion on the table?
Wollan: Do you look at it as a risk to your current business or an opportunity? Depending where companies are as they search for growth, they really have to look at both. If you're only looking at how to go grab it, you very much could become the leaky bucket—adding more and more, but still losing. I may be a net zero contributor to growth if I'm not paying attention to both sides of this opportunity and the risk. Companies should pay attention as much to growing and retaining the revenues they have as they look at this as an opportunity. Next is the question of how well do we really know the elements of the experience that are noticed and valued and how do we rally the investments and execution around those core components. Too often we see long lists of requirements and capabilities that are being aligned towards either outdated expectations or gold-plating elements that customers don't value or even notice. Third we call 'playing to win' versus 'playing not to lose' with digital customers. That becomes a rallying cry in playing to win by not fragmenting your investments in all these areas but in fact driving clear outcome focus for all those initiatives to be noticed and valued by customers. The first choice for that highly attractive segment that actually cuts across most of your customers.
Consulting: What do the results of the survey portend for the future?
Wollan: Switching doesn't look like it's waning. It's not tied to the economy as much as you might think. We're seeing underlying behavior we've seen spike in the more challenging economic times 5 years ago, but really not ever wane. We think switching is here to stay, fairly consistent, normalized slightly, but a much more common behavior. Customers now have been almost training themselves to keep one eye open for someone who is paying attention. We think companies will continue to add new capabilities that are being expected–mobility, online–in those traditional stores and other channels, so the expectations will continue to rise and be met by companies.
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