June 4, 2012

Execs Unsure About Where the Buck Stops for New Customer Communication Channels, New Report Finds: Genesys/Economist Intelligence Unit Study Finds New Social and Mobile Channels Not Yet Aligned with Customer Service

Genesys, a provider of customer experience solutions, recently released its Getting Closer to the Customer report, written by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The global study surveyed more than 798 senior executives worldwide, finding that more than half (58 percent) of C-level respondents consider the CEO responsible for new customer communications channels like social media and mobile. However, less than a third (28 percent) of middle managers agree with their superiors' assessment, and 38 percent of those non C-suite executives pinpoint the marketing department as having the ultimate responsibility in this area. The disconnect between top-level and mid-ranking executives might be explained by the novelty factor of social media. Among other key findings is that when it comes to driving the customer conversation, the marketing department — not customer service or the C-suite — is driving the response to new channels, with 44 percent of executives saying the marketing department has dominated the dialogue between company and customer. The report also found that 43 percent of companies only began using social media in the last year, and only 11 percent of businesses have been using social media to communicate with customers for three years or more. "Given the ubiquity of both mobile devices and social media like Facebook and Twitter, it is alarming that many companies are late to the party and have not clearly assigned responsibility for these channels," said Paul Segre, president and CEO of Genesys, in a news release. "As companies tackle the demands of delivering a great customer experience across an increasing number of communication channels, their brand is ultimately at stake. Delivering an exceptional customer experience requires a comprehensive strategy for emerging mobile and social channels, including how they align and integrate with existing channels, and spanning both marketing and customer service organizations."

The study also found that customer Service has not been a priority with new communications channels. Only 42 percent of organizations use call centers to communicate with customers and just 6 percent see customer support/service as the main purpose of new communication channels.

Additional Findings of Interest:

• The Business Brat Pack — The majority of companies recognize that the most skilled and knowledgeable employees with social media are not the middle-aged denizens of mahogany row, but rather the Generation Y employees not long out of college. In fact, 60 percent of companies that have set up new communication strategies put millennials in charge of new media channels.
• Web 1.0 time warp — Only 48 percent of organizations use social media and networking sites to communicate with customers and only 20 percent use mobile applications, whereas the majority continue to lean on the company website (90 percent) and email (88 percent).
• Too many cooks spoil the broth — Companies that appoint a single person, instead of a team, to manage all communications were more successful. Thirty-three percent of executives within companies that have appointed a team to manage social media/mobile channels felt that there was a disconnect between teams that touch these channels. In organizations that had appointed a single individual to manage new channels, just 9 percent perceived the same disconnect.

"The rapid adoption of social media and the huge growth in the mobile market go hand in hand but companies seem very focused on social media as a singular force and don't appear to have grasped how interconnected the two trends are," said Economist Intelligence Unit deputy editor Annabel Symington, in the release.

"Consumers now own the brand," said Frank Eliason, the senior vice president of social media at Citi, the international financial conglomerate, when interviewed for the report. "They tell each other what they are thinking, and what they are thinking is often negative. Companies in the past did not treat the customer experience as a key C-suite issue, and they are now paying the price."

"It's now much easier to stay in touch with the customer and form an ongoing dialogue," said Richard Binhammer, the director of social media and community at Dell, when interviewed for the report. "These closer relationships will increase customer loyalty, the likelihood of purchase and the average spend."