epilsonAccording to Epsilon’s newly released Singapore Customer Experience Study "A quick look at customer experience in Singapore ", consumers interact all the time with brands across a range of touch points and channels. Epsilon’s report reveals further how Singaporeans reward brands for positive interactions, besides providing data and analysis that describe the detailed preferences of consumers who are active in exploring, understanding and affiliating with brands.

When asked what would make their experience with brands more satisfying, 47% responded with 'the brand is available when I need it'. This number rises to 52% for 18-24 year olds. 'Good customer services/support' also ranked highly, with 42% of respondents putting this in their top 3 considerations.

Considering the demand for constant availability from Singaporeans, having a strong website is essential. Meanwhile, shopping remains a leisure activity for many Singaporeans. 42% of Singapore respondents stated that they still like to visit a bricks-and-mortar store to engage with their favorite brands.

Customers have different channel preferences for receiving information from brands, with these preferences differing greatly for brands in different categories. For high frequency categories - think banks, grocers and airlines - a mobile app is an effective way to reach customers; 25-27% of busy Singaporeans stated mobile apps as one of their preferred channels for receiving information from these high frequency brands. Despite the increasing use of mobile apps, email marketing still performs strongly. It is the preferred channel for communications in the eCommerce (45%), restaurant/eateries (39%), financial service providers (45%), and travel (47%) categories.

One of the key findings of Epsilon's Singapore customer experience study is the importance of brand experiences. Brand experience is becoming an increasingly important part of marketing to modern consumers, and in the same way that a good brand experience can turn a customer into an advocate; a poor customer experience will lead to negative word-of-mouth. 57% of Singaporeans will tell family and friends about a bad experience, whilst 55% will share details of a good experience. Not only will Singaporeans tell others about a bad experience, 59% will reduce their purchase frequency after having a very bad experience of a brand, and 55% will stop buying from the company altogether . These figures rise even higher for high income consumers, 72% of whom will reduce purchase frequency as a result of a bad experience.

Singaporeans like the idea of being rewarded for their patronage: 65% of Singaporeans are motivated to share their personal information with a brand if they have a reward program where they can earn and redeem rewards with and for multiple companies. Exclusive deals and discounts also rank highly, with 59% of respondents being motivated to share information in return for a special deal. Just behind with 57%, are reward or loyalty programs where customers can earn points or miles, popular in the airline and credit categories.

For more information, check out the full report "A quick look at customer experience in Singapore ".

By MediaBUZZ