According to the Customer Experience Impact Report by Harris Interactive, 86% of UK consumers will stop doing business with a company because of poor customer service (up from 59% four years ago) and ten million have done so in the last six months (according to Satmetrix), mostly because of unfair fees or charges, or poor product or service quality.

"Poor customer service is estimated to cost UK businesses £15.3 billion", says Vicki Halsey, who collated the data for the Ken Blanchard Companies, drawing on the Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories report 'The Cost Of Poor Customer Service'. "And not only are companies losing money; they are investing in the wrong customer experiences", she adds.

"Retailers in particular are investing more and more heavily in loyalty schemes and green/sustainable policies, yet our review of the research suggests customers really aren't concerned about these things: only seventeen percent of respondents choose where to shop based on their participation in loyalty-card schemes, and 93% of consumers would continue to shop in the same stores even if retailers scrapped their loyalty scheme (Source: YouGov SixthSense). What customers actually want is easy access to information and availability before making a purchase, improved customer service, and a 'tailored' experience', as was stated in the Right Now Report - Customer Experience Impact."

"A key issue for business in 2012 is clearly going to be meeting rising customer expectations", says Halsey. "The world is becoming more and more transparent, customer experiences can easily be researched online, and being -˜easy to buy from and deal with' is crucial for consumers. By consistently providing a personalised and tailored response to your customers, you can create real competitive edge and reduce the emphasis on price."