Customer service takes center stage as customers’ expectation continue to rise along with technology advances, according to the newly-released State of the Connected Customer report by Salesforce.
Results of the survey, from 14,300 consumers and business buyers across 25 countries — including 650 consumers and 150 business buyers from Singapore, revealed how shifts in technology change customer expectations, urging brands to continue upgrading.
Singapore Key insights
Around 53% of Singaporeans expect companies to understand their needs as they change, 85% expect faster service and 78% expect better personalization, 78% of expect consistent interactions across departments and 76% expect to interact with someone immediately when they reach out to a business.
Brands are now pressured to provide better customer experience as 62% of consumers in Singapore switched brands at least once in the past year. 85% of Singaporeans say that customer service experience is just as important as its products and services. Alarmingly, however, 66% of Singaporean respondents say they feel that brands only treat them as a statistic and not as an individual.
The survey also revealed that customers are cautious of AI and brands need to be transparent before they fully trust the technology. A huge percentage (66%) believe that companies should be trustworthy first before making advances in AI, 79% are concerned about its unethical usage, and 87% find importance in knowing whether they're communicating with AI or a human.
“Rising customer expectations mean companies can’t afford to stand still when it comes to customer service. Technologies such as AI hold immense potential for businesses to keep up with changing needs and preferences. But this also raises pressing concerns around the ethics of AI,” said Sujith Abraham, senior vice president and general manager for Salesforce ASEAN.
