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Most businesses recognize the strong correlation between high levels of customer satisfaction and long-term business growth. To that end, businesses are investing heavily in loyalty programs and customer communications. But how many of these efforts are really paying off? Do customers think they are cared for as much as businesses think they care? A recent global survey conducted by Millward Brown Digital on behalf of MEF Member mBlox set out to answer these questions and more. Here, Marketing Manager Zoe Beath shares the surprising results.

heroBusinesses in the US, UK and Australia were surveyed on how they thought they were performing in the area of customer care, and then their customers in the same regions were asked how well they feel cared for. Only 36% of consumers reported that businesses do a great job providing care, while 73% of businesses think they care well for their customers.

This discrepancy reveals an eye-opening gap of 37 points in the care quotient between what businesses think and what consumers actually feel. Some industries fared better than others, with respondents rating the healthcare industry as the industry that cared the most, and the insurance industry the least.

It’s Mblox’s position that the manner in which a customer is communicated with goes a long way towards closing the care gap. And communicating via mobile device is a critical component in any brand’s customer care efforts.

Survey findings revealed that email is the preferred method of mobile communication for consumers, followed closely by text messages. Only 14% of consumers selected push messaging as their preferred communication method. This raises the question, should businesses continue to put large investments in app development or should they prioritize the enhancement of their email and SMS capabilities?

To close the care gap, businesses need to reach consumers at the time, place and the manner in which they want to connect. This involves evaluating the purpose of the communication and then deciding on one or a combination of the most effective messaging channels.

 Zoe Beath

Marketing Manager

mBlox

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For example, the survey findings showed that consumers prefer email as a channel for marketing messages and promotions. Text messages are chosen over email as the preferred channel for more urgent, time sensitive information such as outage notifications, travel alerts, package tracking and password authentication to name a few.

For more in depth findings, survey methodology, industry specific performance breakdowns and to learn what brands can do to help close the care gap, download the full survey report .

MEF