9 out of 10 Switch After Poor Phone Experience

Nine out of 10 consumers are likely to ditch their financial services providers following a poor phone experience.

The study by Smith & Milton found that 36% of people would definitely consider changing company after a poor phone experience, while 55% say they might, suggesting that the phone remains a hugely important customer touchpoint for brands and consumers alike.

It also found that over two-thirds (68%) of people have had a poor phone experience with a financial services brand.

In addition, the study found that a poor phone experience can have a detrimental effect on consumer impression of a brand. When asked to rank how much a poor phone experience tends to affects their impression of a brand on a scale of 1 to 5 – with ‘5’ being a lot and ‘1’ being not at all – 71% of consumers chose 4 or 5.

“Financial services brands are responsible for looking after some of the expensive and important possessions we own, whether that’s our home, our car, life insurance, or items of sentimental value,” said Ben Mott, Client Services Director at Smith & Milton. “People pick up the phone for the simple reason of wanting to speak to another human being. If the person they speak to sounds ill-informed, or doesn’t communicate the values that originally attracted the customer, it will do little to reassure people that they’re trusting the right company to look after their possessions. And when this happens, consumers won’t hesitate to switch brands.”