9 out of 10 unhappy Singaporean consumers spread the word

Bad service experiences may spread like wildfire as  86% of consumers rely on hearsays.

A recent study by Accenture show that while majority of consumers in Singapore agree that the increased use of technology has improved their overall experience, it also reflects that 90% of Singapore consumers have mostly “told people around them about the experience”, in response to a bad customer service experience.

This is in line with other ASEAN countries, where 89% - 94% of surveyed consumers shared the same sentiment.

In addition, 86% of the surveyed Singapore consumers indicated that “Information from people I know” is the channel most widely used, as they consider information from people they know as most influential in their buying decisions.

“The wisdom of the crowd is now in direct control of your brand. Most smart consumers today would have already made up their minds about you before they showed up at your store front – leaving little chance for even your best salesperson to influence their buying decisions. Winning the customers’ mind share now requires companies to actively engage customers, be it online or offline,” said Lee Joon Seong, Customer Relationship Management practice lead, ASEAN, Accenture.