Key highlights of the Satmetrix customer churn research include:
- Over 10 million have switched brands in the past six months because of a poor customer experience
- The main reasons why customers feel compelled to leave
- Unfair fees and charges in the No.1 reason for switching
- Energy and banking sectors low down on the loyalty ladder
- Npower and Santander the worst culprits within their respective sectors
- Apple the customer loyalty king
- Full downloadable benchmark loyalty reports of eight UK sectors containing winning and losing brands
- Satmetrix’ new Xperience 2.0 platform launches to address customer experience issues identified in the Satmetrix churn research
London – 14 September 2011 – The latest Satmetrix research on customer churn published today shows that the switching epidemic continues unabated because suppliers have not listened to feedback from British consumers. In fact, the top three reasons for switching in 2011 are identical to 2010, with unfair fees and charges the number one cause and rude and disinterested employees climbing one spot to number two.
Switching unleashes negative WOM backlash
The Satmetrix research on customer churn is based on over 13,000 consumer responses in the UK. Not only does it show that suppliers simply haven’t listened to the issues uncovered by the Satmetrix Net Promoter® Benchmarks in 2010, but it also reveals that switching unleashes a tidal wave of negative Word of Mouth (WOM). In fact almost 40% of switchers have advised against using the supplier they left – four times the number for average consumers.
‘Treat ‘em mean to keep ‘em keen’ just doesn’t work with consumers
Famous for their sense of fair play, the British don’t like it when they are not treated fairly or well. As a result, almost a quarter of respondents (23%) saw unfair fees or charges as the number one reason for switching and 21% identified rude or disinterested employees as the main cause.
Energy sector feels the heat while the computer sector is creating brand fans
The Satmetrix research identifies the winners and losers when it comes to consumer loyalty. The clear winners are suppliers of computer products and consumer electronics such as TVs and mobile phones who are creating significant levels of loyalty and positive WOM. In marked contrast, the energy sector has a Net Promoter Score some 62 points lower than the leader, reflecting weak levels of customer engagement and loyalty. The winning and losing sectors are listed in the chart below.
| Sector | 2011 NPS® |
| Computer hardware | +27 |
| Television / DVD electronics | +23 |
| Mobile phone handsets | +19 |
| Mobile phone carriers | +8 |
| Banks | 0 |
| Internet service providers | -6 |
| Car insurance | -6 |
| Home insurance | -20 |
| Energy / Utilities | -35 |
| All sectors | +1 |
Love your customers and they will love you back
While switchers are four times more likely to advise against using a supplier than average consumers, almost four times as many (38%) consumers in the last six months have positively recommended than negatively recommended (10%). This explodes the myth that people are more likely to spread negative WOM than positive WOM – unless they have been let down by their supplier. Furthermore, those that have positively referred have a Net Promoter Score of +50, almost double the best performing sector and nearly 50 points higher than the UK average. It is also 94 points higher than those who have switched and have also advised others against doing business with a brand (-44). This shows that if suppliers create a promoter they will benefit from both increased loyalty and positive WOM and avoid the damage created by switchers.
About the Satmetrix research on customer churn
The Satmetrix research is based on over 13,000 responses from UK consumers and covers nine sectors from banking to computer hardware. It covers a wide range of topics, including:
- The percentage of consumers who have stopped buying from a supplier;
- The reasons for stopping buying;
- The likelihood to recommend;
- The likelihood to continue to buy; and
- The rate at which consumers have positively recommended or have advised others against buying
Carried out once a year, it acts as a barometer of the way suppliers treat their customers and identifies the WOM created by supplier behaviour.
| Reasons for switching | 2011 | 2010 |
| Unfair fees or charges | 23% | 23% |
| Rude or disinterested employees | 21% | 19% |
| Poor product or service quality | 21% | 21% |
| Couldn’t get hold of anyone to deal with my problem | 11% | 12% |
| Discounts for new customers but not existing customers | 8% | 7% |
| Out of territory call centres | 5% | 5% |
| Inadequate return or refund policy | 3% | 4% |
| Inadequate environmental policy | 1% | 1% |
END
For more information contact:
Britt Davies, Marketing Director International, Satmetrix
0845 371 1044
Britt.davies@satmetrix.com
Penny Mairoudhiou, Account Director, Onva
01932 268 323
penny@onva.co.uk
About Satmetrix
Satmetrix is the leading provider of customer experience management software and the co-developer of the Net Promoter loyalty metric. With its Xperience (SaaS) software product and best practices consulting, Satmetrix delivers actionable customer feedback to drive growth through increased customer retention, increased customer lifetime value, and positive Word of Mouth. Satmetrix has a proven track record of accelerating the success of customer experience programmes with more than 700 enterprise deployments in 40 languages. Satmetrix is headquartered in San Mateo with International offices in London, New York, Paris and India.
Net Promoter, Net Promoter Score, and NPS are trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company, Inc., and Fred Reichheld.