Telcos: Get customer service right in 5 mins or I’ll switch

One third of UK & Ireland customers say they would switch to another broadband, TV or phone service provider if they don’t get a satisfactory response in five minutes or less, according to new research from analytics leader SAS.

SAS’ Hyperautomation Report, reveals new customer-centric demands and a raft of fast evolving expectations of telco providers, accelerated by the pandemic. A sample of 1,513 people in the UK and Ireland were asked about their expectations and experiences of customer service as part of the report.

Customers increasingly demand experiences that excel beyond attractive prices when it comes to speaking to telcos about their broadband, phone and tv services. Two-thirds (64 per cent) of consumers say that competitive prices are very important when choosing a service provider, yet they are now rivalled by other factors such as convenience (59 per cent) and speed of service (51 per cent).

However, customers are not prepared to sacrifice quality of service for speed.  More than half (56 percent) only want experiences to be faster if this also guarantees no mistakes are made or a better service is delivered. Achieving speed and quality requires hyper-efficiency from organisations – a quality only achievable through automation combined with intelligent decision-making, or ‘hyperautomation’.

There is still some work to do for customers to completely trust automated customer services. When it comes to telcos, 48 percent said they do trust providers who used automated services like chat bots to some degree. And customers shared that they are not yet comfortable with digital-only experiences; with 85 per cent stating they still want some form of human element involved - even if it’s with a mix of digital interactions too.

Speaking about the Hyperautomation Report findings, David Shannon, Head of Hyperautomation, SAS UK & Ireland, said; “The results show that telco providers need to make consumers feel like they are being understood by delivering quality experiences and outcomes quickly and efficiently. Their current view towards automated customer service technology reflects the fact that online services primarily consist of basic robotic process automation and rule based chatbots, rather than the fast, intelligent online experience that is possible with hyperautomation.

“Now is the chance for organisations to meet multiple business goals at once, increasing innovation, improving productivity and mitigating costs, all delivering asuperior experience to customers. As we face the prospect of rising cost inflation, it’s imperative that businesses take steps to deliver what customers now demand, which is a fast, frictionless, and effective online service at a competitive price. Without this, organisations will be overtaken by the competition and fail to foster long-term loyalty to the brand.”

To see the full results of the survey and learn more about hyperautomation, read the report by SAS entitled Hyperautomation: Using AI to transform your business.

Or to find out more about how telcos can leverage hyperautomation, register for the upcoming webinar ‘Delivering service assurance with hyperautomation to monetize 5G’ on April 21 at 2pm BST.