(HOSTSEARCH.COM) – Research released by web hosting provider 1&1 Internet (http://www.1and1.co.uk) suggests many British Internet users have been ‘negatively affected’ by being unable to find contact details from a business website. The company’s research suggests lack of contact information on websites is the UK’s “top customer service gripe”. It also suggests many businesses are unaware of demand for real-time online customer care.
1&1’s Website Communication Survey took in around 1,300 UK consumers and produced a range of interesting facts. The research suggested half of consumers (52%) have felt “angry and stressed” and 1 in 5 (22%) admitted to feeling “powerless and desperate” by the problem of lack of contact details on a website. In addition, 77.1% had issues with being held in a telephone queue, 56% likewise with staff with “heavy accents”, 42% had an issue with “bad on hold music”, and 40% inflexible office hours an issue.
The survey went on to find that 90% of consumers wanted “real-time live dialogue” with a business through live-chat, forums or “call-me-back” facilities. However, a study of UK SMEs suggests 92% of UK businesses “did not offer such online facilities” and 42% “had no plans to introduce them”. 35% of businesses felt there was “no need to provide more online communication options” as they believed customers were “not interested in communicating online”. 44% of businesses surveyed also believed that there was “no link between online customer support and sales revenue” and 47% believed “providing such facilities would not impact customer retention”.
“Our research clearly shows that struggling to contact a business from its website is a major cause of concern for consumers,” explained CEO of 1&1 Internet, Andreas Gauger. “There is also a clear discrepancy between how consumers and businesses value internet-based customer service. Consumers now place a high value on the ability to talk to businesses in real-time online and businesses of all sizes need to respond to this trend or risk losing sales.”
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