The study, conducted online by Harris
Interactive, on behalf of inContact, among 2,034 U.S. adults aged 18 years or
older, shows that consumers are open to being contacted proactively by
companies. According to the findings, 87 percent of U.S. adults want to be contacted
proactively by an organization or company.
Yet a major hindrance to proactive
customer service is the initial pause or delay that often occurs in traditional
legacy predictive dialers. The inContact survey uncovered that the pause is not
only common, but it prevents customers from talking to companies. The most
common initial reaction to a delay or pause, among those who answer calls from
unfamiliar numbers, is to simply hang up (49%).
Customers would be more receptive if
the pause could be eliminated. Over half (55%) of those who answer incoming
calls from unfamiliar numbers say that if there was no delay or pause they
would be more receptive to what the caller might have to say and/or more
interested in hearing who’s calling them from an unfamiliar number.
Additional Key Findings Include:
-- Nearly
one-in-five (17%) of those who answer incoming calls from unfamiliar numbers
believe the delay/pause conveys that they are not important to the caller.
-- The most
popular reasons why U.S. adults would want to be contacted is about fraudulent
activity on their account (65%), for setting appointments or reminders (53%) or
with questions about an order they placed (51%).
-- Nearly
three-quarters (73%) of those who have had a pleasant surprise or positive
experience with an incoming call from a business/service provider report they
had a positive change in their perception of the organization calling them.
-- 62% of those
who have had a pleasant surprise or positive experience with an incoming call
from a business/service provider have taken an action as a result of that
positive experience.
More information on customer service, support and CRM can be found at www.CRMindustry.com
