FILIPINO consumers are increasingly demanding the ability to control and personalize their products, services and experiences—a trend indicating wider digital shift in consumer behavior, a survey by Amdocs Ltd. revealed.
The majority (54 percent) of consumers who Amdocs polled said they would be more loyal to their service providers if they are offered the ability to solve any issues they have with billing or services through self-service applications or web site in few clicks.
According to the survey, while Filipinos prefer to use digital channels to interact with digital businesses or brands—such as Uber or Grab, they are still not widely using their service providers’ digital channels for customer care or self-care service.
“The Philippines is one of the fastest-growing digital economies, with huge popularity of social networking sites, app-based taxi services and innovations in mobile payments, all of which are serving to set a higher benchmark for customer experience,” Hakon Jacobsen, Amdocs vice president for digital in Asia Pacific, was quoted in a statement as saying. “As a result, to remain relevant in the eyes of customers, improve customer engagement and deliver the types of experiences customers demand in the digital age, service providers must work quickly to make critical adjustments to their digital strategy and transform their business to align with the wider digital shift.”
Other key findings in the Amdocs poll revealed that digital lifestyle is changing consumer demands and shifting the balance of power to consumers:
- 61 percent (60 percent globally) of respondents valued the ability to control and personalize their devices and services.
- 52 percent (54 percent globally) wanted to receive offerings that were specifically relevant to their needs and interests
- 58 percent (55 percent globally) would prefer to access self-service using digital platforms to avoid calling customer care. Furthermore, respondents said they would recommend their service provider to friends and family if they could perform a wide range of actions via self-service—specifically, if they could personalize their products and services (52 percent).
“The appetite for digital alternatives is increasing: Filipinos are becoming accustomed to the customer experience delivered by the new digital companies, with 86 percent (75 percent globally) of respondents preferring to interact with these companies via digital channels,” Amdocs said. “Significantly, 86 percent (73 percent globally) expressed a willingness to leave their current service provider if they could receive a comparable level of wireless connectivity from digital companies.”
Seventy-eight percent of respondents in the Philippines said they would switch if network data quality was acceptable, while 37 percent (39 percent globally) would do so if customer service and support were better than that from their current service provider.
