July 18, 2007 – (HOSTSEARCH.COM) – A recent survey conducted by web hosting provider Fasthosts (http://www.fasthosts.co.uk/) suggests that slow email responses may be damaging business in the UK. The survey took in 1,300 British UK consumers and suggests that slow email response negatively impacts a company’s image, and in 89% of cases, leads a consumer to choose a company’s competitor.
The survey also discovered 78% of UK consumers have at some stage been affected by slow email response, and revealed that, on average, UK consumers have to send three emails before receiving a “satisfactory response”. Conducted by research company Tickbox, Fasthosts’ also revealed that 64% of UK consumers have been affected by “unhelpful automated replies”. 90% of UK consumers suggested they were more loyal to brands and likely to spend more with companies that replied quickly to emails. The survey suggests that most UK consumers expect a response in 24 hours, while 19% are only prepared to wait even 12 hours.
“It is clear that businesses of all sizes can incur real damage by responding slowly to customer emails,” explained CTO Fasthosts’ Mark Jeffries “Whilst most recognize that email is an important form of communication with their market, the majority remain misinformed about the kind of effects that poor email practices can have on their business”.
Another survey of 500 businesses in the United Kingdom suggested 56% of companies do not have an email response time policy, and 20% had received complaints about slow response. 66% of businesses had no email-training program on issues such as email management or etiquette, while 55% gave no training to employees on day-to-day email usage.
“Both UK consumers and businesses have much to gain from more swift email communication. British SMEs can see great returns from investing in the way they handle customer emails,” added Mark Jeffries.
