81% of European shoppers would spend more for superior customer experience

Oracle's pan-European research of online shoppers who had made a complaint to a customer service department in the last year reveals that a whopping 81% of Europeans (90% in the UK) would pay more to ensure a superior customer experience. Furthermore, almost half would be willing to pay a premium of more than 5% to get such a level of customer service.

"Why Customer Satisfaction is No Longer Good Enough", also reveals what would drive consumers to spend more with a brand:

- 40% cited overall improvement in the customer experience;
- 35% cited quick and easy access to information that allows customers to ask questions; and,
- 32% cited and easy returns policy.

"As an absolute fundamental, businesses must ensure that their customer experience systems can support fulfillment and service to the extent demanded by consumers, while at all times making it as simple as possible for them to interact with the brand," says Danny Rippon, CRM business solutions director at Oracle. "This is the key both to winning new customers and retaining them for the long-haul."

A lousy customer experience is harmful to a brand's reputation and bottom line. Oracle's report shows that 70% of the shoppers interviewed had ceased to do business with a company following a bad customer experience. Worse still, most of them went straight to a competitor to complete their shopping.

Tags: brand marketing, customer contact, customer experience, customer service