50% Of UK Consumers Would Switch Brands Due To Bad Customer Service

Brands can expect their UK customers to be less forgiving regarding unsatisfactory customer service than clients from the US, although consumers on the other side of the Atlantic are twice as likely to report a poor experience to others.

These insights come from a study from technology provider NewVoiceMedia, which also found that bad customer service encourages as many as 50% of all UK consumers to switch to another brand. In the US, this can cause 44% of consumers to turn to another business.

NewVoiceMedia has estimated that UK businesses lose £12 billion a year as they let customers slip through their fingers and chose competitor companies due to bad customer experience; this loss of revenue could add to extra costs such as replacing lost clients and restoring a brand’s damaged reputation.

Customers in the UK are more likely to switch brands due to bad interactions compared to their US counterparts, but they are also more prepared to propose a solution to the problem by sending a complaint – 58% would resort to this measure before leaving a brand compared to 37% of Americans. British consumers, meanwhile, are less likely (27%) to advise friends not to use a brand compared to US customers (50%), and are also less likely to post negative comments on social media (59.3% vs. 60% respectively).

The results suggest that good customer service is now a key factor in choosing a brand over another for today’s customer, and providing personalised and engaging customer experience across channels is critical for keeping customers happy, NewVoiceMedia’s chief executive Jonathan Gale said.