Tackling the Brand Loyalty Crisis: What Irish Customers want

Paul Turley, Senior Director at ServiceNow draws from recent consumer research to share insights into what Irish businesses should prioritise to capture consumers’ attention.

Businesses are under significant pressure due to concerns about increasing costs and shifting consumer values. As our recent research found nine in ten Irish consumers are less loyal to brands now than they were two years ago. This waning brand loyalty means it’s time to get serious about customer experience.

It’s not always feasible to compete on price, which makes experience an important differentiator. Put simply, if you’re not delivering a standout, seamless service that meets increasing buyer expectations, your customers will seek alternatives. The onus sits with business leaders to find out exactly what a top-tier experience should look like—and how to deliver it.

What Irish consumers expect from brands

The findings from our survey of 1,000 consumers in Ireland and a further 14,000 across the EMEA region, tell us that:

• The top three things customers want to see organisations prioritise are:
  • Price reductions (44%)
  • Improved aftercare (35%)
  • Updating websites and apps to be more user-friendly (30%)
• The most important aspects of a customer experience today are:
  • Offering quick, real-time support (87%)
  • Offering multiple engagement options (chatbots, emails, telephone, and social media (85%)
  • Remembering previous service interactions (68%)
• The most popular modes of engagement for specific tasks:
  • Self-service guides when requesting product information (22%)
  • Phone calls with customer service representatives when problem solving or troubleshooting (39%)
  • Chatbot (GenAI)/online chat with human customer services for asking a quick turnaround question (16%)

What businesses need to prioritise

As per the ServiceNow Consumer Voice Report 2024, we discovered three key areas for businesses to focus on in order to tackle the brand loyalty crisis.

1. A combination of tech and human support

When asked what element of customer service consumers consider most important, the ability to resolve issues easily came out on top in Ireland (95%). Fast response times were also considered a top priority, with 96% of Irish consumers believing speedy service important.

Generative AI (GenAI) technology has a key role to play here. Self-service solutions like virtual agents or chatbots can empower round-the-clock, near-instant issue resolution, helping meet the current demand for fast, seamless outcomes. Organisations must tread carefully though. About one-third of Irish consumers (28%) don’t trust AI to provide accurate answers.

Similarly, nine in ten Irish consumers consider a choice of engagement methods to be an important element of service. Solely relying on tech-powered service delivery is a mistake. Consumers want a blend of both high-touch and high-tech service offerings to satisfy their desire for speed, while reserving the option to speak to a human when necessary.

2. Flexibility to switch between channels

Our research shows customers often want different modes of connection at different moments in the buyer journey. Most consumers would choose to engage with a chatbot before phoning a human representative when seeking general company information or product details.

When problem-solving or troubleshooting an issue, however, 38% of consumers in Ireland would rather phone a human customer service representative. Offering a choice of channels is a great starting point when looking to drive long-term customer relationships. It’s just as vital that these channels are straightforward—and that they’re easy to switch between when desired.

Organisations looking to provide the best possible experience for customers in the region must be mindful of changing demand. Being able to swap out technology for a human touch when an issue arises is key to building long-lasting customer loyalty.

3. Tech with personalisation

Consumers in Ireland value a strong customer experience underpinned by the right tech solutions. In fact, by 2030, Irish consumers would like to see the following become standard practice:

• AI-driven product recommendations (48%)
• 100% autonomous, AI-powered customer service (33%)
• Virtual reality technology to allow customers to try before they buy (62%)

When asked why they may be hesitant to engage with AI solutions, consumers in Ireland cited they want a genuine apology or reply not a formulaic response (38%) and lack of personalisation (36%). When employing AI-powered customer service solutions such as chatbots, it’s crucial that organisations maintain the level of personalisation expected by consumers. Getting this approach right requires a strong data management strategy.

Next steps for organisations

Organisations must collect—and act on—data in a way that allows them to understand their customers’ preferences. It’s about investing in the appropriate technology solutions that allow full visibility into both how customers interact with the business and their preferences, whether that’s GenAI reporting capabilities, a single-server platform with one consolidated dashboard, or something else.

Then it becomes possible to use the relevant insights to create solutions that are seamless, personalised, and meet customers where they are in the buyer journey—capturing their attention and tackling the brand loyalty crisis.

Find out more about what Irish consumers expect from a standout customer experience in the 2024 Consumer Voice Report.

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