Top tier companies fail to respond to individual customers according to an annual e-mail responsiveness survey, which shows a decline in customer service response rates for the fourth year in a row.
The annual survey is conducted through marketing expert Scott Hornstein's consultancy, Hornstein Associates. 38 respected companies, including such notables as IBM, Dell, Apple, Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com, American Airlines, L.L. Bean and the Direct Marketing Association, have been sent the following one sentence email for the past four years:
What is your corporate policy regarding the turnaround time for e-mails addressed to customer service?
Hornstein's survey found that in 2005 only 42% of companies responded within 24 hours, down a full third from a high of 63% in 2002.
"This year's research shows a precipitous decline, which sends a clear message that even though the mechanics of Customer Relationship Marketing may have increased penetration within corporations, the strategy of Customer Fulfillment has not. The benefits of CRM are largely internal to the corporation. The benefits of Customer Fulfillment are to the customer," Hornstein said. "In fact, it appears that corporation's willingness to respond to the individual customer is receding."
Through proprietary VOC Research efforts on behalf of many clients, Hornstein has established that customers expect an e-mail reply within 24 hours. Hornstein's research has been corroborated by Jupiter Research's Customer Service Webtrack, which reports 88% of customers surveyed expect a response to e-mail inquirers within 24 hours.
"Marketers must meet customer's expectations for e-mail responsiveness," said Hornstein. "It's difficult, but not impossible. Respond within 24 hours, even if it's to say you're delayed."
The State of Connecticut had the fastest response rate at 3 minutes, while the IRS responded at 19 minutes. Gateway and L.L. Bean were tied for third – each responding in about an hour. The list of non-responders is embarrassing. And there is very little consistency from year to year.
"Most everyone with computer access sends an e-mail inquiry to a company
at some time, and most frequently, with a customer service-type request. It's crazy that 36% of companies simply did not respond at all," Hornstein said. "Short-term, customers without answers go away as do their sales. Marketers are eroding trust and respect among customers, which translates into lost long term revenue potential."
About HornsteinScott Hornstein has over 30 years experience working with Fortune 100 clients and mid-sized businesses in all phases of marketing strategy, research and implementation. Hornstein's proprietary methodology achieves stronger relationships between marketers and their customers by restoring trust and respect, leading to maximized customer satisfaction, retention and lifetime value.
Scott Hornstein lectures regularly at universities, associations and international conventions, and writes for leading business and marketing publications. He is the co-author of
Opt-In Marketing: Increase Sales Exponentially with Consensual Marketing (McGraw-Hill, 2004).
To learn more about Scott Hornstein and The Hornstein Method™, visit
www.hornsteinassociates.com or contact Hornstein Associates directly at Scott Hornstein, scott@hornsteinassociates.com
