Businesses losing up to £750,000 due to high failure rate of customer programmes

• 8 in 10 companies with solid customer programmes demonstrate significant profit increases
• Yet 81% of organisations have seen their customer initiatives fail in the last three years, costing them up to £750,000 each over the past three years
• Europe lags behind the rest of the world in meeting customer expectations

Guildford, UK – May 12, 2014 — Fewer than 20% of companies globally are delivering the level of service their customers expect, according to a new study from Avaya, a global provider of business collaboration and communications solutions and services. The research suggests that European companies lag behind their Asian and American counterparts when it comes to closing the gap between customer expectations and the service they deliver and are missing out on potential profit increases as a result.

Despite the research finding a firm correlation between customer service initiatives and increased profits, businesses are failing to evolve their customer programmes fast enough to keep consumers satisfied.

• 81% of companies with solid customer initiatives in place have seen significant profit increases in the last 12 months.
• 92% of UK/ 61% of German consumers would rather spend money with organisations that are easier to buy from
• Yet less than a fifth (16%) of British/ German managers believe customer effort significantly impacts spending satisfaction and retention and less than half (40% UK)/ less than a third (30% Germany) have initiatives in place to reduce customer effort

When businesses do listen they are still getting it wrong

• Eight in ten organisations have put in place projects aimed at improving customer service in the last year
• But 81% of organisations have seen their customer initiatives fail in the last three years
• Consequently 66% say they have wasted money on failed customer initiatives – as much as £750,000 per organisation – and many senior managers are unable to even quantify how much money has been wasted
• In addition to losing money these failed customer initiatives mean businesses miss out on the increased customer satisfaction (68%), loyalty (64%), retention (59%) and repeat purchasing (56%) that companies with solid customer experience programmes report

Europe lags behind the rest of the world.
In general European businesses place less importance on managing the customer experience. In China and the US 83% and 73% of businesses respectively have a customer management programme in place while in India the figure is 72%. This is in sharp contrast to Europe, where only 55% of British and German companies do. In India three-quarters of business managers say customer experience management is very important. The US (59%) and Brazil (59%) also view it as very important, but fewer business managers in Germany (33%) and the UK (39%) feel this way.

Getting off the ground
The research reports that 31% of organisations who do not have a customer management programme in place attribute its absence to a lack of appropriate technology. A further 37% say they are being held back by the fact that different parts of the business own the customer experience. Avaya’s Enhanced Customer Experience Management Portfolio provides solutions that help companies deliver transformative customer experiences, truly moving customer experiences into the next generation – with better services, advanced technology and ultimately great solutions for today’s consumer.

Quotes:
“Lacklustre customer service is inexcusable in a digital world where customers are king,” says Garry Veale, president of Avaya in EU. “When it is so closely linked with customer loyalty and increased profits, and with cost-effective and easy-to-implement software and services available to companies of all sizes, there really is no excuse for not having a comprehensive programme in place.”

Additional Resources:
Avaya CEM Research Infographic on Slideshare
Avaya CEM Research Media Summary Report

Survey Methodology:
The survey was conducted globally across 13 countries by independent market research firm Dynamic Markets on behalf of Avaya including: United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, Russia, China, Singapore, Japan, India and Australia. 1,268 businesses with more than 1,500 employees were interviewed, 54%of who are at senior-management level or above. 8,500 adult consumers were surveyed; 49%of who are male and 51% female.

About Avaya:
Avaya is a global provider of business collaboration and communications solutions, providing unified communications, contact centers, networking and related services to companies of all sizes around the world. For more information please visit www.avaya.com.

Certain statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “should” or “will” or other similar terminology. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While we believe these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. These and other important factors may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. For a list and description of such risks and uncertainties, please refer to Avaya’s filings with the SEC that are available at www.sec.gov. Avaya disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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Media Contacts:
Rachel Bibby, Avaya
+44 (0)1483 309602
rbibby@avaya.com

Deborah Nazareth, FleishmanHillard
+44 (0)20 7395 7165
deborah.nazareth@fleishmaneurope.com

Source: RealWire