Banks Not Connecting With Customers Online

Ovum has revealed that just six per cent of retail banks are using social media to deal with customer queries and only one percent plan to start providing customer service through social media channels before the end of 2012.

The study echoes recent research by Virgin Media Business into customer service levels among Britain's biggest banks, which found that the UK's biggest high street banks are missing out on thousands of opportunities a month to connect with their customers online.

The study found that Britain's high street banks are being tweeted about 180 times a day on average. Yet, despite a growing number of businesses using social networks as customer service channels, Virgin Media Business found that the majority of British banks are not using the micro blogging site as a platform for customer service.

Phil Stewart, customer service director at Virgin Media Business said:

"Britain's biggest banks have made a lot of progress over the last few years, significantly improving the experience that customer's get when phoning their call centres. However our study shows that this drive to improve customer service hasn't spread online. Despite more than five million people in the UK signing up to Twitter, we found that most banks aren't engaging with customers on the site.

"Whether you like it or not, social networking sites seem to be becoming the new sounding board for complaints about companies. In fact, research by the Institute of Customer Service recently found that nearly a tenth of Brits expect businesses to have a presence on Twitter. With the country's high street banks being tweeted about 180 times a day on average, responding to customers on the web is clearly going to be challenging. But with 55 per cent of people in the UK expecting a response to an online complaint within 24 hours, it's a challenge that the banks need to take up.

"Smart organisations are beginning to realise that a call centre isn't the only way to provide customer service. Customers now want to get in touch with businesses via email, Instant Messaging and social networking sites too. To handle this plethora of inbound enquiries, companies need to take a multi-channel approach to their customer service. Investing in the right technology and training will allow firms to respond to their customers quickly and consistently, regardless of how they choose to get in touch." 
 

Read more customer service news