Two out of five suppliers of a range of services including energy, broadband and insurance are “missing out on millions of pounds of revenue every year” by failing to try to retain customers who want to switch according to a recent research findings from customer contact centre firm Echo Managed Services.
Echo found that 40% of customers surveyed said their supplier made no effort to retain their business and let them leave without a fight.
It found also that 14% of consumers had been convinced to stay with a business in the past year. “Should businesses put more effort into effective customer retention strategies, the rewards are there,” said Echo.
Echo warned that water suppliers should heed the warnings in its findings ahead of the possible opening of the household water retail market to competition. It found that 38% of household water customers would immediately review their supplier should the domestic market open up while 19% would review their supplier within the first year of market opening.
Head of sales and marketing at Echo Managed Services, Chris Cullen, said: “It appears that for many businesses, when a customer contacts them to say they are thinking about leaving, they are failing to empathise with and retain their custom.
“This could be a costly mistake as clearly a significant number of consumers have been convinced to stay with a business when the right effort has been made to retain them.