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There’s no denying that the mobile revolution has transformed life throughout Latin America in countless ways. According to a 2012 World Bank report, “Maximizing Mobile for Development,” about 98% of the region’s population is within reach of a mobile cell signal, and 84% of Latin American households subscribe to some type of mobile service.
One unintended consequence of this dramatic growth is that Caribbean and Latin America service providers have sometimes been hard pressed to provide the high level of customer service their customers demand. With mobile growth skyrocketing, how do service providers in Latin America solve issues to ensure that call centers won’t be overloaded and customers will happily recommend them to their friends?
To find out and help service providers better understand their subscribers’ experiences and expectations, Amdocs commissioned a global consumer survey with Coleman Parkes of 4,000 consumers worldwide. The survey examined how service providers can increase their Net Promoter Score (NPS), which measures customer loyalty by their willingness to recommend their current service to others.
Here are key findings of the global survey:
- Impersonal, inconsistent response: 65% of the consumers surveyed reported their service provider treats them like an anonymous customer each time they contact them. Aggravating the issue, the responses are often inconsistent, and only 17% of respondents reported a consistent response across different channels.
- Irrelevant communication: Almost half (49%) of the customers surveyed hadn’t received proactive notifications about impending issues that could affect them. Of those who had, 73% said the notifications didn’t help resolve the issues. Sometimes the notifications created even more work: one out of four times, the notifications resulted in a call to the contact center (proactive backfire), when the customer would not have otherwise called in.
- Can’t you fix it already?: 96% expect service providers to notify them about major service issues; 92% also want to know once it has been resolved. When the issue can’t be fixed preemptively, 83% are happy to follow instructions provided, proving that customers are willing to rely on self-service if it’s done right.
- Happy customers tell their friends: Impress your customers with great service, and they’ll spread the word. Of the respondents, 84% would likely recommend service providers who successfully identify and proactively resolve customer care issues that impact them, meaning improved NPS. And 86% agreed they would be more satisfied as customers; 83% would feel more loyal; and 87% would be less likely to churn.
The survey included 1,000 respondents from the CALA region—out of 4,000 consumers surveyed in total. Here’s what the survey revealed about the CALA market, compared to the other global regions surveyed:
- CALA customers use self-service for shopping the most but find it complicated and inconsistent across channels.
- Only 14% of CALA customers (the lowest percentage of any global region) get a consistent response for their issues across channels.
- 71% of CALA customers (the highest of any global region) use mobile apps from their service providers.
- At 77%, CALA customers are the most likely to start a purchase online.
- At 56%, CALA customers are the most likely to abandon a purchase online if it is too complicated or confusing.
- At 84%, CALA customers are the most likely to complete a purchase if they could switch between channels and continue the transaction.
The message for CALA service providers is clear: By improving customer service operations overall — and specifically by providing proactive alerts about important service issues — they can increase customer loyalty, and even gain new customers, from improved NPS rankings.
