German companies address their customers to wrong

Companies have large backlog in the targeted customer approach: apply both in terms of the communication channel as well as with their offers not the needs of customers, so the result of the representative study "Customer Centricity Management" by Steria Mummert Consulting. Most companies offer general information on the product, although customers prefer promotions and tailored information. And they underestimate the most desired communication channel: the e-mail.

Almost all companies (94 percent) send general information, but only slightly more than half provide customers with special offers. Consumers prefer exactly the opposite: More than half do not want any information about services at all. Just over a third prefer information on special price promotions and offers. Companies should therefore emphasize special offers more than before in their active customer communication.

According to the study, there are two particular situations in which customers want product related offers: first, if existing contracts, as mobile or leases expire. And secondly, when much change in a product or a component framework, for example in a securities account. In third place, customers want information about complementary products. Companies set priorities in reverse order: Nine out of ten companies want to encourage their customers to supplement a purchase made. Only three quarters address their customers with individually tailored proposals.

"Companies should information services more geared to the question of what might need this in the future," explains Elmar Stenzel, principal investigator and Head of Customer Relationship Management at Steria Mummert Consulting. "Customers find favor if they feel that a company deals with their situation." The challenge is to understand which events to the customer are so important that they motivate him to embark on a treaty change to reflect or to terminate the agreement in the worst case additional components. With regard to the communication channel customers prefer product information via email. Companies, however, provide product information to preferred spot and only secondarily by email. The active addressing customers by email should therefore be absolutely expanded.

Background information

For the study "Potential Analysis Customer Centricity Management", 23 specialists and executives from large and medium-sized companies with more than 1 employees from the areas of board, management, sales, sales, customer service, customer communication and marketing were surveyed from September 2013 to October 125, 100. The online survey was carried out in cooperation with the IMWF Institute for Management and Economic Research. In addition, from September 8 to 26, 2013, end customers were asked about their wishes. 1.000 Germans aged 18 and over took part in the survey. The data are representative of the German population.

Source: Hamburg [Steria Mummert Consulting]