By Tom S. Noda
Computerworld Philippines
March 26, 2010

Tom Cruise’s famous movie line “show me the money” has now morphed into “show me the value” for recession-weary consumers who now want more value for their money, according to a recent study by Convergys Corporation.

Dubbed “2010 Consumer Scorecard Research” Convergy’s study revealed that US consumers who were affected by the crisis now want the companies with which they do business to value not only them but also their time, money, and their preferences.

“Today’s consumer expectations are clear. They expect good value for their money and timely acknowledgement and resolution of their issues by knowledgeable employees,” said Jim Boyce, president, Global Sales and Services, Convergys. “Consumers will simply take their business elsewhere when their needs are not met. At the same time, the companies that have the customer service mechanisms in place to give their customers what they want are the companies that will retain and even grow market share.”

Convergys said it conducts primary research to advise its clients on how best they can differentiate themselves and win through the customer service experience. Results from Convergys’ second annual consumer research study demonstrate that the recession has increased consumer demand for excellence in customer service.

The company reported its Customer Intelligence Services was based on a survey of 2,500 customers, 1,500 employees, and 120 executives of large companies in the United States and the United Kingdom which began in January 2010.

The study revealed 46% of the respondents reported that they are worse off than they were a year ago, and that the key word for today’s consumers is “value.”

Under the “value my time” issue, consumers continue to expect superior customer service experiences, with 33% of survey respondents choosing “addresses my needs on first contact” as the top customer service attribute, up slightly from the 2008 pre-recession research. Since they are key to first-contact resolution, “knowledgeable employees” also ranked high, chosen by 25% of consumers as the third most important customer service attribute, up from 22% in 2008.

On the “value my money” concern,  recession-weary consumers are not just looking for the lowest cost but the best value in their customer transactions, Convergys said. It showed that 31% of survey respondents chose “good value for the money” as the second most important customer service attribute, up significantly from 2008. 33% of respondents rated reliable service as more important than price in their definition of what constitutes “good value for money.” Only 5% of customers defined good value as “paying the lowest price.”

Yet on the “value me” demand, the study’s “Treats me like a valued customer” was the fourth most important attribute, cited by 22% of survey respondents. It went up from 13% in 2008 and the fastest growing attribute of choice for consumers who want positive acknowledgment from the companies that win their business.

And on the “value my preferences” issue, survey respondents’ contact channel preferences point to an increasing need for multiple customer care solutions that combine agent-assisted service with automation and self-service options. While consumers still prefer to speak with a customer service agent, customer service via self- service, live web chat, automated phone systems, and e-mail with response is also gaining traction.

Despite consumers’ clear preferences for value and efficient issue resolution, bad customer experiences continue to frustrate consumers, 57% of whom reported having a bad experience with a company, up slightly from 2008. In response, today’s value-minded consumer is more likely to speak with his or her wallet, which is 44% of the survey respondents who had a bad experience reported that they stopped doing business with that company. This went up from 38% in 2008.

Convergys said those who stay are more likely to seek and expect resolution from a company when they do not receive the service and value they expect.

Survey respondents reported that they informed companies of their bad experiences 66% of the time, up from 58% in 2008. Companies that were not equipped to resolve or respond to customer complaints paid the price in customer defections. There were 57% of survey respondents who reported a bad experience and did not receive a response from the company stopped doing business with the offending party, as did 50% of respondents who received a response without resolution.

The 80% of survey respondents who had a bad experience with a company also told their friends and colleagues about it, spreading the word through face-to-face chats, e-mails, text messages, and social media, which has immense power to amplify the voice of the frustrated consumer widely among a company’s customers and potential customers.

“There is a silver lining,” Boyce said “Our research found that a meaningful number of customers who stopped doing business with a company after a bad experience would do business with that company again if the company made an effort to win them back.”

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