Member Article

Human Nature Drives Customer Loyalty, Finds Study

Technology adoption is imperative to maintaining a competitive edge, but many companies rely too heavily on technology without understanding how it’s impacting the customer experience.

A new study announced today, “Are You Listening? The Truth About What Customers Want in a Digital World,” and commissioned by Calabrio, a leading provider of customer engagement and analytics software, found that human nature and the meaningful experiences that organisations create with customers drive digital behaviour and loyalty.

The study, which surveyed more than 3,000 consumers in the U.S. and U.K. to explore what motivates customer behaviour in an increasingly digital world, not surprisingly, found the majority (61 percent) of respondents make purchasing decisions based on the quality of the product or service. The emotional connection and trust that businesses build with customers comes in second—ahead of price—because customers say they want to be heard. Seventy-four percent admit they are more loyal to a company if they can talk to a person—versus a machine—when they need assistance.

Although email, chatbots and other new communications technology offers increased convenience, 58 percent of customers still believe that picking up the phone and talking to a representative is the way to get the best and most efficient service. When those agents are well-trained, knowledgeable and empathetic, they have the power to turn every interaction into a positive, relevant experience that creates an emotional connection to the company.

“Technology innovation will always play a part in business evolution,” said Kris McKenzie, Senior Vice President and General Manager for EMEA at Calabrio. “However, to successfully evolve the customer experience in the digital world, companies must understand customers are driven by human nature and to gain loyalty they should listen and meet customers where they are engaging. To achieve this and fully understand customer preferences, companies must tap into technology to capture and analyse the growing number of customer interactions across all service channels. This combination of digital and direct human interaction insights will enable brands to understand the true voice of the customer when defining the optimal customer experience.” For companies to earn customer loyalty, they must listen and act to deliver experiences that customers want by finding the right balance of technology and the human touch. Customers want to be heard, and they want to create an emotional connection with brands.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Calabrio .