Institute of Customer Services

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are you being engaged?survey of employee engagement and the impact on consumer behaviour

Institute of Customer Service

are you being engaged?

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Research by the Institute of Customer Service

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in an information-storage and retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without written permission from the Institute of Customer Service, 2 Castle Court, St Peter’s Street, Colchester CO1 1EW.

© Institute of Customer Service

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contents

introduction 4

executive summary 5

employee engagement by sector 7

differentiators between a good and bad experience 8

willingness to pay for excellent customer service 8

impact of memorable experiences – good and bad 10

good and bad memorable experiences by sector 11

outcome of good or bad experiences 12

Institute of customer service 14

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Introduction

In May 2012 the Institute of Customer Service surveyed 2,000 consumers – from the UK Customer Satisfaction Index panel* - to rate the service they receive from organisations in four sectors – banks, insurance, utilities and high street retailers. The study has three main objectives, which are to assess:

• �How employee engagement and attitude - as perceived by customer - influences whether customers have memorable experiences.

• �The impact of memorable customer experiences - good and bad - on customers’ purchasing decisions.

• �The extent to which customers would be prepared to pay more for excellent customer service.

The survey concludes that:

Employee�engagement�and�attitude�are�key�factors�in�determining�customers’�experience.

The biggest differentiators between positive and negative experiences are: seeming interested in meeting the customer’s needs; seeming helpful; and seeming passionate about doing a good job.

Memorable�customer�experiences�have�a�decisive�influence�on�customers’�purchasing�behaviour.

Two thirds (66%) of those who had a good experience with a company have recommended the organisation to someone else, and roughly two thirds (61%) of customers with a bad experience have stopped doing business with the organisation, and more (75%) have avoided them when they have a choice. A similar number (67%) have spread negative word of mouth.

One�in�four�customers�say�they�would�pay�more�for�excellent�customer�service.

Many customers want a balance between price and excellent service, but a significant proportion, say they would pay more – an average of 5% - for excellent customer service.

*UK Customer Satisfaction Index panel – see page 14

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executive summary

By�Sector

Financial services staff (banks and insurers) seem the most engaged according to consumers, with banks scoring highest on a range of indicators than other sectors (sectors surveyed were finance, retail and utilities).

Differentiators�between�good�and�bad�service

The biggest differentiators between staff who create a good experience and those who create a bad experience are (on a scale of 1-10):

• �Seeming�interested�in�meeting�the�customer’s�needs�-�difference between good and bad experience is 6.1 points.

• Seeming�helpful�- difference between good and bad experience is 5.7 points.

• Seeming�passionate�about�doing�a�good�job�- difference between good and bad experience is 5.6 points.

Willingness�to�pay�for�excellent�service�

One in four customers (24%) say they would be prepared to pay more for excellent customer service. Those who are prepared to pay a price premium are prepared to pay 5% on average. The maximum is 10%.

• Most customers want a balance between price and service. When asked to choose a point on a scale between price and service to show the best balance in each sector, the largest minority of customers (around 2 in 5) chose a middling five or six for all sectors.

The�impact�of�memorable�experiences�–�good�and�bad�

Almost a third (29%) of consumers have had a memorable service experience with a bank, utility company, retailer or insurer in the last six months.

• Consumers rated 57% (4 out of 7) of these memorable interactions with banks, utility companies, retailers and insurers as ‘good’. 43% were bad.

• Two thirds (66%) of those who had a good experience with a company have recommended the organisation to someone else. Only 3% of those with a bad experience have.

• Roughly two thirds (61%) of customers with a bad experience have stopped doing business with the organisation, and more (75%) have avoided them when they have a choice. A similar number (67%) have spread negative word of mouth.

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Communications�channels�

• Two thirds (64%) of face-to-face experiences were positive.

• Consumers reported an equal number of good and bad experiences when dealing with companies over the telephone (50% good, 50% bad).

About�this�survey

The research is based on a survey conducted with 2,000 consumers by the Institute of Customer Service – May 2012.

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Employee�engagement�by�sector

• Financial services staff (banks and insurers) seem the most engaged according to consumers; banks score most highly across all indicators.

• Retail and utilities are equal when it comes to staff seeming engaged (score less than 7 in every aspect).

• Retail has a particular problem with staff seeming bored (rated 5.7, compared to 5.1 or less in other sectors).

The day to day service experience 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Friendly

Knowledgeable

Helpful

Enthusiastic

Interested in meeting my needs

Passionate about doing a good job for me

Enjoying their work

Seemed proud to work for the company

Bored

Banks

Insurers

High St Retailers

Utilities

Using a scale of 1-‐10, where 1 is completely disagree and 10 is completely agree, score these statements about customer service staff you regularly encounter at…

The day to day service experience 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Friendly

Knowledgeable

Helpful

Enthusiastic

Interested in meeting my needs

Passionate about doing a good job for me

Enjoying their work

Seemed proud to work for the company

Bored

Banks

Insurers

High St Retailers

Utilities

Using a scale of 1-‐10, where 1 is completely disagree and 10 is completely agree, score these statements about customer service staff you regularly encounter at…

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Differentiators�between�a�good�and�bad�experience�

The biggest differentiators between staff who create a good experience and those who create a bad experience are (scale 1-10):

• Seeming�interested�in�meeting�the�customer’s�needs�- difference between good and bad experience is 6.1 points.

• Seeming�helpful�- difference between good and bad experience is 5.7 points.

• Seeming�passionate�about�doing�a�good�job�- difference between good and bad experience is 5.6 points.

• Seeming�enthusiastic�-�difference between good and bad experience is 5.3 points.

• Seeming�friendly�- difference between good and bad experience is 5.0 points.

Willingness�to�pay�for�excellent�customer�service�

One in four customers (24%) say they would be prepared to pay more for excellent customer service.

Those who are prepared to pay a price premium are prepared to pay 5% on average. The maximum is 10%.

When asked to choose a point on a scale between price and service to show the best balance in each sector, the largest minority of customers (around 2 in 5) chose a middling five or six for all sectors.

One�in�four�would�pay�an�average�of�5%�more�for�excellent�customer�service.

1 in 4 would pay for service

Would you be willing to pay more for excellent customer service?

Yes, 24%

Don't know, 17%

No, 59%

5% on average

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Most�customers�want�a�balance�between�price�and�service

When asked to choose a point on a scale between price and service to show the best balance in each sector, the largest minority of customers (around 2 in 5) chose a middling five or six for all sectors.

Most customers want a balance of price and service

Please score the balance of price and service you would be happy to accept in each sector

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Banking

Insurance

Telecoms

Utilities

Price focused Service focused

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Impact�of�memorable�experiences�–�good�and�bad�

Proportion�of�customer�who�have�had�a�memorable�customer�experience�

Almost a third (29%) of consumers have had a memorable service experience with a bank, utility company, retailer or insurer in the last six months.

Consumers rated 57% (4 out of 7) of these memorable interactions with banks, utility companies, retailers and insurers as ‘good’ - 43% were bad.

1 in 3 has had a memorable experience

Can you remember a really good or really bad experience with a member of staff at a Bank or Insurer, a retailer or a uFlity company within the last 6 months?

Yes, a good experience,

17%

Yes, a bad experience,

13%

Don't know, 7%

No, 64%

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Good�and�bad�memorable�experiences�by�sector�

Banks

When dealing with banks, nearly two thirds of consumers (63%) reported having a good experience).

Insurers

According to consumers, insurers created twice as many good experiences (65%) as bad ones (35%).

Utilities�

According to consumers, utilities companies created more bad experiences (57%) than good (43%).

Retailers�

Consumers reported equal amounts of good (53%) and bad (47%) service experiences from retailers.

Utilities create more bad experiences than good ones

37%

57%

47%

35%

63%

43%

53%

65%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Bank

Utility

Retailer

Insurer

A bad experience A good experience

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Moments of truth affect behaviour 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Recommended this company

Bought the same product again from this company

Bought a different product from this company

Avoided this company when you have a choice

Warned others not to be a customer of this company

Stopped buying products from this company

A bad experience A good experience

Since this experience, have you…

Outcomes�of�good�or�bad�experiences�

As a result of a customer service experience, consumers stated that they would be likely to:

� If�a�bad�experience� If�a�good�experience�� (on�a�scale�of�1�–�10)� (on�a�scale�of�1�–�10)

Recommend�this�company 2.6 8.4

Buy�from�this�company�again 3.1 8.6

Buy�additional/other�products�from�this�company 2.7 8.1

Stop�buying�products�from�this�company 3.5 6.6

Warn�others�not�to�be�a�customer�of�this�company 3.3 6.9

� Avoid�this�company�when�you�have�a�choice 7.2 3.4

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Two thirds (66%) of those who had a good experience with a company have recommended the organisation to someone else. Only 3% of those with a bad experience have.

Roughly two thirds (61%) of customers with a bad experience have stopped doing business with the organisation, and more (75%) have avoided them when they have a choice. A similar number (67%) have spread negative word of mouth.

Communications�channels�

Two thirds (64%) of face-to-face experiences were positive.

Consumers reported an equal number of good and bad experiences when dealing with companies over the telephone (50% good, 50% bad).

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Institute�of�Customer�Service

The Institute of Customer Service is the UK’s independent, professional body for customer service. Its purpose is to enables organisations to achieve tangible business benefits through excellent customer service aligned to their business goals; and to help individuals to maximise their career potential and employability by developing their customer service skills. The Institute has almost 400 organisational members across sectors including Unilever, Marks & Spencer, Boots, British Gas, Birmingham City Council, Vodafone, Simplyhealth, and over 3,000 individual members.

Members benefit from a range of services including:

• �research and reports on the latest customer service trends and thinking, including the UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI)

• �benchmarking capabilities against other organisations

• �diagnostic tools to identify areas for improvement by surveying customers and employees

• �training and accreditation programmes for customer service professionals

• �professional qualifications for individual members at all stages of their career.

For more information about the Institute of Customer Service visit www.instituteofcustomerservice.com

Institute�of�Customer�Service�research

Research is available to purchase at www.instituteofcustomerservice.com Titles include:

UK�Customer�Satisfaction�Index�(UKCSI)

The UKCSI is the national measure of customer satisfaction published by the Institute of Customer Service. It gauges the quality of customer service in the UK by surveying around 26,000 consumers each year. UKCSI was launched in 2007 and is conducted every six months. It shows how consumers rate their satisfaction with leading UK organisations, identifies differences in satisfaction between business sectors, and highlights the latest trends in consumer attitudes. Thirteen sector reports are available, which show consumers’ ratings for organisations in the same sector. UKCSI results are determined on a geographically and demographically representative sample of UK adults and data is collected for all organisations with a high market share in each segment of the private sector and the main players in the public sector.

Return�on�Investment�in�customer�service:�the�bottom�line�report

The report examines the relationship between improvements in excellent customer service and the financial return for organisations. The research includes a survey of senior directors, a literature review, case studies, and recommendations about how to achieve ROI from increased focus on customer service.


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contact us at:Institute of Customer Service2 Castle Court, St Peter’s Street,Colchester, Essex CO1 1 EW

01206 571 [email protected]

Institute of Customer Services

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