More than 8 in 10 people surveyed across 8 countries say they’d be willing to spend more for a better experience, according to Capgemini research [pdf]. But the study reveals a disconnect between executive and customer perceptions of companies’ customer-centricity.
Indeed, in surveying executives at 125 companies and 3,372 of their customers, Capgemini found that while 70% of the executives feel their companies are customer-centric, just 30% of their customers agree.
While customers claim that they’ll reward a better experience with more spending, some are also quick to abandon companies for not providing it. In fact, roughly 1 in 5 customers across the 5 industries tracked reported having purchasing from a company due to a poor experience. This response was highest for utilities (22%) and lowest for retail banking (17%).
Internet-Based Services Lead the Way
Internet-Based Services seem to be setting the industry standard for better experiences. The disconnect in customer-centric perception was narrowest in this sector, with 68% of companies believing they are customer-centric and 56% of their customers agreeing.
By contrast, whereas 78% of Utilities executives believe their companies to be customer-centric, a paltry 7% of customers agreed.
Moreover, 59% of Internet-Based Services customers believe those companies provide a better customer experience than the competition, compared to 47% of customers overall. Once again, Utilities customers are the most negative, with only about one-third feeling that their company is leading the pack.
Perhaps these customers are disenchanted: a relatively small 73% would pay more for better experiences, compared to 87% of Internet-Based Services customers.
One way to enhance the customer experience is to make it simpler: a Siegel+Gale study released earlier this year found almost two-thirds (64%) of people around the world willing to pay more for simpler experiences.
Companies could also be more responsive to other customer wishes:
- Only 4 in 10 customers believe companies listen to their feedback and act on it; and
- A similar 42% believe that companies reward them for their loyalty.
About the Data: Capgemini surveyed 450 executives from 150 companies (3 executives from each company) headquartered in Australia, China, France, Germany, India, the Netherlands, the UK and the US. Companies were split evenly across 5 industries: Consumer Products: Utilities; Retail; Retail Banking; and Internet-Based Companies.
Capgemini also surveyed 3,372 customers of those same companies. Customers hailed from the same countries in which the companies are headquartered.
