Responsive customer service is the key to delivering an excellent customer experience and retaining customers in Singapore, ahead of data privacy, transparency and personalisation, based on the findings of the SAP Hybris Consumer Insight survey.
The survey of more than 1000 consumers in Singapore revealed that it was the only market to rank responsiveness over privacy concerns, with 81 per cent reporting they will choose not to support a brand again based on unresponsive customer service, compared to 67 per cent who expect transparency from brands and will choose not to purchase from a brand again if their data has been used without their knowledge.
“True to the highly service-oriented market, our survey found responsive customer service to be Singaporeans’ top priority in the engagement with brands,” said Nicholas Kontopoulos, global vice president, fast growth markets marketing, SAP Hybris.
Speed of response is also important, with more than 40 per cent of Singapore respondents expecting brands to respond within three hours. The survey reveals that men at 44 per cent are slightly less tolerant than women at 39 per cent.
On the topic of privacy, the survey found that 63 per cent of Singapore respondents are comfortable with sharing their email addresses and 53 per cent with sharing their shopping history and preferences, but just 36 per cent approve of sharing their mobile numbers with brands.
Organisations must be cautious with the data they collect as 77 per cent of respondents said they expect brands to protect their interest when using their personal data, while 67 per cent cited the importance of transparency in data usage and 61 per cent cited the importance of ensuring customer privacy in the event of a criminal investigation.
As for practices to avoid, Kontopoulos said that “the top two don’ts for Singapore customers” are receiving too many direct marketing and sales calls at 64 per cent and irrelevant content at 47 per cent.
