Smart Communications Survey Reveals Enterprises Risk Losing Customers if They Don’t Communicate Effectively

Results Indicate 63 Percent are Likely to Switch Vendors if Expectations Aren’t Met

London and New York – Aug. 9, 2018 – Smart CommunicationsTM, the leading cloud-based platform for enterprise customer communications, today announces the results of a recent survey aimed at determining consumer opinions about the current state of communications delivered by financial services, insurance and healthcare companies. Key among the findings is the discovery that 63 percent of customers are likely to switch vendors that do not meet their expectations. Even more telling, companies are putting themselves at particular risk if they don’t consider recent customer interactions when developing new communications.

When asked to identify specific criteria that might influence a decision to change vendors, a failure to incorporate recent interactions stood out, with about 30 percent of respondents indicating this could be a deciding factor. Unfortunately, this same communications criterion fell to the bottom of the list when asked about which communications elements companies are doing especially well, creating a clear opportunity for companies today.

“It is not surprising that customers have high expectations for the communications they receive from businesses, nor that they will express their displeasure by taking their business elsewhere,” said James Brown, CEO of Smart Communications. “The good news is that much of the feedback we received indicated there are a lot of things companies are already doing well, and with more of them now embracing a shift toward more modern customer communications platforms we expect this evolution to continue.”

Among the more positive results, about half of consumers surveyed felt that financial services and insurance companies are already delivering communications that are relevant to their needs. Additionally, financial services firms are similarly doing a good job of ensuring that messages are error free and easy to understand. Across all three industries, more than a third were given high marks for delivering messages at the right time.

To continue making communications as personalized and relevant as possible, companies need to know about each recipient as an individual. While technology now allows for the collection of a tremendous amount of customer data, more stringent privacy laws are putting greater control over this data back into consumers’ hands. To entice them to share the personal details necessary to make communications as meaningful as possible, companies must first prove that it will be worth it. Sixty-one percent of US consumers stated they would be willing to share more data with a company if it demonstrated the use of data to make communications more meaningful, and 48 percent of UK consumers agreed.

“Consumers are very clear about how they expect companies to communicate with them, and if enterprises are willing to listen they can reap tremendous benefits,” Brown added. “If they don’t, they may not be given a second chance, which can be quite costly. This is why it is so important to select and integrate tools that allow for comprehensive data collection, complete views of the customer and the delivery of more meaningful conversations.”

The complete study, The State of Meaningful Customer Conversations: Consumer Perspectives on What They Expect, What They’re Currently Receiving and Why it Matters, can be downloaded here.

Survey Methodology:

To investigate opinions and requirements, as well as identify which elements of communications are important and which have an impact on choice of provider, Smart Communications commissioned Harris Interactive to conduct research among consumers in the UK and US about communications in the following sectors: banks and other financial companies, insurance, healthcare. In June 2018, Smart Communications targeted 500 nationally representative (on age and gender) surveys in both the UK and the US. All respondents needed to be a customer of at least one of the three sectors.

 About Smart Communications

Smart Communications™ is the leading cloud-based platform for enterprise customer communications. As the only cloud solution ranked as a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Customer Communications Management, more than 350 global brands – many in the world’s most highly regulated industries – rely on Smart Communications to make multi-channel customer communications more meaningful, while also helping them simplify their processes and operate more efficiently. This is what it means to scale the conversation.  Smart Communications is headquartered in London and New York and serves its customers from offices located across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. The company offers a range of solutions including SmartCOMMTM, SmartDXTM, SmartCORRTM for Salesforce, and SmartCaaSTM for Partners. To learn more, visit smartcommunications.com.