UK Businesses Struggling to Meet Customer Expectations

Research reveals that only a third (34%) of customer email queries are answered successfully

UK businesses are failing to satisfactorily answer over a third (36%) of all routine queries asked on the web, email, Twitter and Facebook, with performance dropping by 5% since 2019. The research, from customer service software provider Eptica, an Enghouse company, found companies offering working live chat has increased to 32% in comparison to just 26% in 2019.

In addition, the 2020 Digital Customer Experience Study also discovered that over half of companies (52%) offer email as a form of communication, but only 34% were able to answer queries successfully. In comparison to the 2019 report, nearly two-thirds (64%) provided email as a contact channel with 37% providing accurate responses to customers.

Jeremy Payne, International VP Marketing, Enghouse Interactive, said:

“Delivering fast, accurate and consistent customer service is fundamental to engaging with consumers to win and retain their business. Yet too many companies are falling short and at these times of unprecedented inbound inquiries for worried customers the research shows a disconnect between businesses using some of the simple tools and techniques like email management to help reduce the volume of calls that have to be handled by an already stretched staff.”

The 2020 study also discovered that companies offering Twitter as a customer communication tool rose from 45% to 59% while Facebook remained static on 57%. However, Eptica’s own research with 1,000 UK consumers found these were the least popular channels for customer contact falling behind email, the web, chat and voice.

The Digital Customer Experience Study evaluated 50 leading businesses in the fashion, food and drink, insurance, travel and banking on their performance at answering basic customer queries on the web, email, social media and chat, and benchmarked it against research carried out annually since 2011.

“The research shows that chat has moved into the mainstream after years of being seen as ‘nice to have’ channel for businesses,” said Payne.

“While this year’s study highlights clear issues, fixing them should be relatively straightforward – companies need to adopt best practice, break down silos between channels to share knowledge and embrace technology to both increase efficiency and meet customer needs.”

The full 2020 Eptica Digital Customer Experience Study can be downloaded by Clicking Here

Eptica, an Enghouse company, specialises in intelligent platforms that enable companies to place digital customer engagement at the heart of their strategy, driving excellent customer experience and deeper insight to create value across all operations.

Specialising in Natural Language Processing (NLP), Eptica makes the best use of AI and cognitive technologies for CX to help build trust between people and organisations. Eptica is part of Enghouse Interactive.

For additional information on Eptica visit their Website or view their Company Profile

Enghouse Interactive delivers technology and expertise to maximize the value of every customer interaction. The company develops a comprehensive portfolio of customer interaction management solutions. Core technologies include contact centre, attendant console, predictive outbound dialler, knowledge management, IVR and call recording solutions that support any telephony environment, on premise or in the cloud. Enghouse Interactive has thousands of customers worldwide, supported by a global network of partners and more than 800 dedicated staff across the company’s international operations.