Irish consumers won’t settle for a sub-par customer service or experience.
According to The Global Consumer Pulse research, which is conducted by Accenture, 72% of Irish consumers have switched providers at some stage after a poor customer service performance. This figure is an 11% increase from last year’s survey and well above the global average of 54%.
Poor customer experience is the most common reason for switching, according to the research, with two-thirds saying that was the reason for changing providers. A loss of trust in the company was the second most common reason (47%) while 25% indicated it was due to a lack of customized offers.
Accenture estimated the value of Ireland’s ‘Switching Economy’ to be around €13 billion, or around 16% of consumers’ annual disposable income.
The report also reveals that Irish consumers are becoming more digitally savvy, with many willing to switch in pursuit of a better online experience, while they are simultaneously becoming more worried about how their personal information might be used.
Less than one-third (31%) of customers now say that they are happy with the service offered by their providers, down from 36% last year. This decrease is similar to the amount of people who are willing to buy more products or services from the same provider, dropping to 12% from 17% last year.
Consumers are less likely to recommend a product or service to a friend, according to the research. That figure (18%) dropped from 22% last year. The most vulnerable providers to switching behaviors are retailers (33%), followed by banks (19%), Internet service providers (16%), and telephone providers (1%).
Rebecca Gilmore, Accenture’s Head of Customer & Marketing Services, said in a release that many companies are struggling to retain customers in an economy that is becoming increasingly difficult to predict.
“Changing customer behaviors and low levels of customer satisfaction are fueling a switching economy that presents opportunities for some companies and threats for others,” she said. “Too many companies are playing not to lose instead of 
playing to win.”
Nine out of 10 respondents to the survey said that they made use of at least one online source to learn more about a company’s products and services. This shift online carried through from purchases to customer service.
Irish companies, however, lag behind their users when it comes to adapting to the web, with only 13% of consumers saying that Irish companies are good at “aligning new technology with traditional interactions.”
Gilmore added: “Irish consumers are inherently mobile and naturally social.”