An annual report generated by callcentres.net and commissioned by Avaya, a provider of enteprise communications systems, reveals that the there is a higher level of consumer satisfaction with contact center engagements in Singapore. The 2008 Contact Center Consumer Index Singapore report saw an increase of five basis points from 0.61 in 2007 to 0.66 in 2008. 41% of respondents were 'satisfied' to 'extremely satisfied' with their last call to a contact centre versus 29% in 2007.
While the majority of respondents consider using the telephone as their most preferred method of contacting a company, the report showed that more consumers are starting to use online means.
The research also reveals that Singaporean women tend to show a higher affinity for using non-interactive tools like email or touch phone to get their queries resolved. Men, on the other hand, would rather speak with customer service representative. Men also prefer to do business with companies that are supported by 24X7 contact centers.
According to the report, consumers are more likely to re-engage with and recommend companies if they are provided with ideal contact center services. In this case, the study's Customer Loyalty Index reveals that customers are 9% more likely to be loyal in the future.
'The results of our survey show a strong correlation between customer loyalty and contact center experience. This suggests that a business that offers its customers a contact center experience that exceeds the customers' expectations will enjoy an increased probability of retaining and getting referrals from customers,' said Dr Catriona Wallace, Director, callcentres.net.
'Customer retention is the main driver for profitability in a contact center and we are currently seeing more and more companies in Singapore focusing on building a good contact center base to ensure customer loyalty. The current survey reveals that emotions and behavior continue to be key drivers in the overall value that consumers perceive from contact centers and already our solutions are taking that into consideration,' said Mr Eugene Chng, Regional Managing Director, Avaya. 'With Avaya's innovative contact center technologies, we can help our customers by keeping overall costs down,' he added.