Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) consumers expect more from customer service than brands believe they are delivering, according to new research from Genesys, an AI-powered experience orchestration platform.
Findings are based on the fourth edition of the company’s “State of Customer Experience in Asia-Pacific” report, which draws insights from more than 5,000 consumers and nearly 1,200 customer experience (CX) leaders worldwide, including data specific to ANZ.
First-contact resolution emerged as the most important factor in a customer service interaction for 53 per cent of respondents in the region, surpassing the global average of 48 per cent, and ranking higher than the demand for fast response times, which ranked second at 43 per cent.
Although only 42 per cent of ANZ consumers see proactive service as a top personalisation feature, the lowest in APAC, 64 per cent place high value on brands knowing their history and activities, the highest in the region. These findings indicate that they favour personalised service based on recognition and responsiveness rather than preventive outreach or prediction of needs.
Only one in three CX leaders in ANZ said their organisations are highly effective at using consumer accounts and history to provide personalised experiences. Additionally, just 20 per cent rate their multi-channel support as highly effective.
“This is important, especially when our research shows 35 per cent of ANZ consumers surveyed report having stopped doing business with a company because of a bad customer service experience within the past year, and 39 per cent having recommended a company after receiving a positive customer service experience in that same period,” said Mark Buckley, Vice President of Genesys Australia and New Zealand.
While consumers consistently express a preference for personalised experiences and multi-channel flexibility, only 33 per cent of surveyed CX leaders feel they deliver highly personalised customer service experiences compared to 42 per cent of respondents globally.
With 83 percent of ANZ consumers equating service quality with brand value compared to 76 percent across APAC, the expectations are clear.
More than half (54 per cent) of ANZ consumers find it unacceptable to wait five minutes or more on hold, yet many continue to experience extended delays. One in 10 consumers report waiting 90 minutes or more to connect with a service representative, twice the global and regional averages. This gap highlights the urgent need for businesses in the region to improve their customer engagement strategies.
ANZ CX leaders cite the primary internal challenges hindering seamless customer journeys, namely siloed departments with separate customer engagement solutions (33 per cent), a lack of consolidated or shared data (33 per cent), and a lack of carry-over of customer context from one channel to another (30 per cent).
Technology can help CX leaders address these barriers. Around 64 per cent of consumers around the world think AI will enhance the speed and quality of customer experience in the next two to three years, emphasising the value of AI-powered CX technology in meeting rising consumer expectations.
However, only 30 per cent intend to implement to adopt a customer experience platform that connects systems in the next two years, falling notably short of the 44 per cent of leaders globally and in the rest of APAC.
The report also outlines some significant trends that CX organisations should keep an eye on, such as optimal engagement channels, empathetic engagement, chances of getting it right, and fixing common service issues.