Happy Friday! ‘This week in CX’ brings you the latest roundup of industry news.
This week, we’re looking at new research into how social media is being used for brand sharing and exposure. When it comes to customer service, the fashion industry has been found to be the best at providing a top service, and consumers are trusting the reviews of other people’s customer service experiences when it comes to assessing company feedback before connecting.
Key news
- TikTok has been fined £12.7m by the UK’s data watchdog for failing to protect the privacy of children. It estimated TikTok allowed up to 1.4 million UK children aged under 13 to use the platform in 2020. This is the latest in the list of issues the platform is currently facing, alongside being placed under global scrutiny over security concerns. Many Western countries are taking measures against TikTok over fears users’ data will be shared with the Chinese government. The app has been banned on government devices in Canada, Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Taiwan, the UK, the US and for anyone working at the European Commission.
- Medallia has announced its latest Gender Pay Gap Report. It shows an overall reduction in its gender pay gap in 2021-22, compared to 2020-21. There’s also an increase in female representation up to 38.5%. The Gender Gap in business still has a way to go. Is your business taking necessary steps to improve and shorten this gap? In similar news, the UK’s finance and construction sectors have reported the biggest gender pay gaps in 2022-23. Women on average are earning 22% less than male colleagues, according to an analysis by the BBC. 80% of UK firms paid men more than women, with an average wage difference of 9.4%, the same as in 2017/18.
- Elon Musk and industry experts signed an open letter calling for a six-month pause on advanced AI development. The letter was criticised by some for sensationalising a technology that still has a long way to go. In the new age and era of a tech-driven society, what do you think? Is this necessary to slow it all down before it overwhelms us? Or is it too late to hit the pause button on a tech with so much potential that is already so widely used? Let us know.
- Sendbird announced the public beta release of its new integration with Salesforce Service Cloud. Sendbird’s Salesforce Connector allows any business to extend Salesforce Service Cloud capabilities to deliver live chat support experience to customers. Sendbird is also harnessing the power of ChatGPT to offer live agents advanced tools that enhance their performance within their existing workflows.
- Aircall, the phone and communication platform, announced it is launching new AI features that provide transcription capabilities for sales and support teams looking to increase performance and productivity. It is designed to particularly address the growing needs of small to medium businesses (SMBs) — featuring easy-to-use call and voicemail transcription.
Commentary share: calls for AI suspension
Calling it a ‘threat to society’ Elon Musk and other experts have called for a 6-month suspension on AI.
“As generative AI tools such as Microsoft’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard continue to make waves, it’s natural to ask tough questions. We’ve seen havoc misinformation and bias can wreak in AI technology, so we can’t just assume these tools are inherently ethical and safe. But it would be hasty to call for a blanket suspension, what’s really needed is a responsible and ethical approach that permeates every aspect of our society.
“There are indeed many critical risks when dealing with AI. From unexpected capabilities upon deployment to its potential use as a powerful tool for phishing and fraud activities, like deepfakes, it’s unaffordable to take eyes off the ball. To mitigate this, it’s critical to raise awareness among public institutions, businesses and educational settings, to understand and guide the continued development of AI without being overwhelmed by it.”
Andreas Rindler, Managing Director at BCG Platinion
Social media is the new search engine
According to HubSpot’s latest Social Media Report, 82% of businesses believe that consumers will now find brands using social media instead.
With 70% of brands selling products directly on social media and 74% stating that social media will become consumers’ preferred means of customer service, it’s clear that businesses are seeing the value in reaching customers on these channels.
And it’s not any social media that is taking over – it’s TikTok. In fact, over half (55%) of businesses believe that the new kid on the block has the most potential for growth, compared to just 8% who think Instagram is the way to go. It seems like the younger generation’s love for TikTok is driving this trend, and businesses are ready to ride the wave.
“The future of marketing is no longer about interrupting what people are interested in, it’s about being what people are interested in. With social media shopping on the rise, and customer service increasingly moving online, it’s clear that brands need to have a strong presence on these platforms in order to succeed.
“And it’s more important than ever for organisations to truly understand where their customers are and adapt their engagement strategies to meet them on their preferred channels as attracting and retaining key audiences will ultimately grow their business.”
Julie Lock, Marketing Director UK&I, at HubSpot
Fashion retailers provide better customer service than any other industry
SaaSGenius.com has tested the customer service departments of 50 companies across 5 different industries to reveal which company does CS best. 10 of the biggest companies from each of the following industries were tested; fashion retailers; delivery couriers; grocery suppliers; utility companies; travel companies.
Each company was tested against 10 factors, for a total score out of 100, revealing the fashion retail industry as the most speedy and efficient customer service, scoring highest on average (49.35 out of 100). It’s no surprise that the fashion retail industry scored highly, given that 9 out of 10 of the UK’s top fashion retailers offer at least three different methods of customer service. The best-performing fashion retail companies for customer service were:
- Nike (70.3)
- H&M (68.6)
- Next (67.7)
- These scores were strong enough to rank all 3 companies in the top 5 of the 50 tested in this study.
Travel companies provided the second-best customer service, with an industry average score of 44.78 out of 100. Scores within the travel industry reached highs of 65.5 with EasyJet, as well as lows of 30.4 with British Airways. There’s not much separating the grocery supplier and delivery courier industries, which rank third and fourth with industry average scores of 42.73 and 42.37 respectively.
When it comes to providing quick customer service, utility companies come rock bottom, with an industry average score of 40.38.
Consumers trust customer reviews more than the companies themselves
New research from Smart Money People revealed that more people are likely to trust product reviews from other customers (84%). This is in comparison to industry experts (67%), professional reviewers (48%), and companies or brands (41%). New products or services (41%) and being unfamiliar with the company (41%) were the factors most likely to encourage shoppers to seek out reviews.
When asked whether they tend to leave more negative or positive reviews, 72% said positive. In fact, 27% of respondents leave reviews to give a company a better reputation, compared to just 7% who do so to damage a company’s reputation.
Both positive and negative reviews have a substantial impact on consumers’ decision-making.
- 68% of respondents claimed they would make a purchase after reading positive reviews for other customers.
- 69% would change their mind about a purchase after reading negative reviews.
Over a third of people leaving reviews (36%) hope businesses will accept their feedback and change their products or services accordingly. One in 10 do so in the hope of getting a direct response from the company in question.
Thanks for tuning into CXM’s weekly roundup of industry news. Check back next Friday for the latest updates of the week!