Affluent Indians ready to pay premium for better service: Survey

Affluent Indians are willing to pay a premium of up to 40 per cent for a brand in return for better customer service, finds a survey instituted by American Express.

Highlighting the significance of customer service experience in retaining affluent customers, two-thirds of those surveyed said they were likely to discontinue using a brand due to poor customer service.

The online survey was conducted by Kantar IMRB (on behalf of American Express) among 1,577 affluent Indians across Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata and the National Capital Region in July. The aim of the survey was to gain insights on the role that customer service plays in influencing the choice of brand and loyalty. Those surveyed were defined on parameters such as ownership of credit card, type of TV, type of phone, cars owned, vacations in India and abroad, frequency of fine dining and frequency of air travel.

Over half the respondents (53 per cent) said they were willing to pay a premium for a brand, ranging from 20 to 40 per cent, in return for superior customer service. Of those surveyed, 42 per cent said they were willing to pay a premium for prompt customer service.

Around 62 per cent of those surveyed stated that customer service and availability of instantaneous issueresolution across multiple platforms was a must-have digital feature to retain their loyalty to the brand.

Talking to a customer service representative over a phone call was the most preferred mode of communication for customers, followed by connecting through digital mediums such as email and online chat.

Around 84 per cent of the respondents said when they have a customer service issue, they preferred to resolve it through the phone with a representative. Three-fourths of the respondents said they preferred online chat with a representative, while 64 per cent sought answers to customer service issues online, rather than interacting with a representative. Two-thirds of those surveyed (66 per cent) said that in case of poor customer service, they would discontinue use of the brand.

53% said they were willing to pay a premium ranging from 20 to 40% for a brand in return for superior customer service