NEW YORK, March 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Over the past
year of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer behaviors have continued to
shift and so too have ways in which brands interact with customers.
While 70% of North American consumers have taken a step toward
greater digital interaction with at least one provider, nearly 60%
believe companies need to improve their customer experience, with
this sentiment most strongly felt by millennials (71%).
In a year when over half (56%) of consumers believe the pandemic
has fundamentally changed how they communicate and engage with
businesses, 54% have also seen an increase in 'humanity' in the
communications they've received from providers. The new customer
experience and communications study from global Fintech leader
Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) surveys the opinions
of 3,000 North American consumers, finding that brands have higher
standards to live up to in delivering relevant, personalized and
data-driven content.
"Companies have been challenged to rapidly adapt to rising
customer expectations as a result of the pandemic," said
Matt Swain, managing director for
communications and customer experience consulting services at
Broadridge. "Whether it's the purchase experience or essential
communication touchpoints like bills and statements, the bar has
been set very high for brands to provide consumers with easy,
engaging and personalized digital interactions. Until more digital
experiences meet these higher standards, a large portion of
consumers will continue to hold onto print."
Building Off of 2020: The Year of Firsts
2020 was a year of digital firsts. For the first time:
- One third (32%) of consumers made an online bill payment and
nearly a quarter (22%) created an online account.
- Nearly one in five consumers (18%) went paperless with at least
one company.
- 19% of respondents overall – and 27% of Millennials – used the
chat feature on a company's website, portal or app.
Despite these initial digital interactions, just over half (54%)
of consumers who went paperless for the first time in 2020 rated
their experience as "excellent," showing that to outlast first time
usage and break long-term print habits around essential
communications like bills and statements, companies need to invest
in improving seamless and consistent digital experiences.
Digital Experimentation is on the Rise
With more cross-generational digital experimentation over the
past year, there was an uptick in consumers using their providers'
mobile options. Since the pandemic began, nearly half (49%) of
consumers' usage of mobile apps from companies increased, including
32% of Boomers.
Consumers also became more receptive to mobile payments, with
the majority (65%) of respondents saying they would use a mobile
app to make a bill payment. Six out of 10 (64%) consumers are
interested in receiving short informational videos personalized to
the services they receive. A majority (58%) would also like
companies to deliver bills, statements and other important
documents directly into their preferred cloud storage location.
Paper for the Record
Despite these digital firsts, when it comes to favorite channels
for receiving communications, half of consumers still prefer
physical mail most. Of those, three-quarters (76%) say they will
still want to receive print communications in three years.
Regardless of delivery preferences, consumers expect a seamless
omni-channel experience. An overwhelming majority (84%) of
consumers expect companies to make it easy for them to interact
across print, digital and other channels.
"While brands place emphasis on transitioning customers to
digital channels, we are seeing a sustained demand for print
communications among consumers," said Swain. "Whether serving as a
reminder for payment or providing a renewed sense of novelty in a
digital world, printed bills and statements will long have a place
in brand communications."
Personalize Communications or Lose Business
Relevance is paramount. In fact, a personalized omni-channel
experience across digital and print channels is a consumer
expectation that can cost providers business when not executed
well. Two out of five consumers (43%) have stopped doing business
with a company just because it did a poor job of personalizing the
experience. Millennials (59%) and Gen X (51%) were most likely to
change providers compared to 28% of Boomers.
As consumer needs evolve, it will be imperative for companies to
focus on increasing the value of print and digital experiences,
embracing digital experimentation, and providing seamless
experiences tied to consumer preferences.
"Companies that win customer loyalty in the post-pandemic
recovery will be those that continue to invest in their digital
communications toolkit while optimizing the print experience for
consumers who remain partial to the channel," concluded Swain.
View Broadridge's third annual customer experience and
communications report.
Methodology
Broadridge Customer Communications
commissioned ENGINE to conduct a CARAVAN Omnibus Survey. The
43-question survey was administered between December 3-10, 2020, to 3,000 U.S. and Canadian
residents ages 25 and older. The sample was weighted to current
U.S. and Canadian Census data for age, gender and region. The
figures are statistically significant at the 95% confidence level
with a margin of error of ±2 percentage points.
About Broadridge
Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.
(NYSE: BR), a $4.5 billion global Fintech leader, is a
leading provider of investor communications and technology-driven
solutions to banks, broker-dealers, asset and wealth managers and
corporate issuers. Broadridge's infrastructure underpins proxy
voting services for over 50 percent of public companies and mutual
funds globally, and processes on average more than U.S.
$10 trillion in fixed income and
equity securities trades per day. Broadridge is part of the S&P
500® Index and employs over 12,000 associates in 17 countries.
For more information about Broadridge, please
visit www.broadridge.com.
Media contact:
Marie
Matta
Prosek Partners
646-818-9106
mmatta@prosek.com
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SOURCE Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.