We live in a world of ones and zeros. Technology has improved the quality of our lives in ways that would have been unimaginable even 20 years ago, but it has also fostered much alienation while trying hard to make us believe we are always connected.

Getting through to a human on the phone in a bank can be difficult, for instance. And it is not hard to imagine the level of confusion and frustration – on both sides – generated by a person with a strong Donegal, Cork or Dublin accent trying to explain to some poor unfortunate in Bangalore why they think a gust of wind has broken the broadband on their street.

Large companies hide behind automated answering systems and rely on call centres in remote locations on the other side of the world to deal with hyper-local problems, while souped-up social networks suggest businesses are always there for us when the reality is rather different.

Maybe it is time these businesses were given a wake-up call and made to understand that what people want more than anything else when they have a problem is other people. Consumers want to be able to talk to people who will be able to empathise with them and help them deal with issues. And it is not just Pricewatch saying that. A report published by Accenture this morning agrees with us.

The report, Digital Disconnect in Customer Engagement, is based on the company's 11th annual Global Consumer Pulse Research, which gauges the experiences and attitudes of almost 25,000 consumers around the world about marketing, sales and customer services. All told, 350 Irish consumers were included in the sample.

It shows that human interaction remains a vital component of customer satisfaction, even in this digital age. A total of 79 per cent of Irish consumers told researchers they preferred dealing with people instead of through digital channels when it came to solving customer-service issues. And 48 per cent said they would be willing to pay a higher price if it ensured a better level of service.

In-store experiences are also highly valued among consumers: 66 per cent say in-store service is the best channel for getting a tailored experience, and 49 per cent say they are more willing to be sold new or upgraded products when receiving a face-to-face service rather than online.

A further 42 per cent of consumers said they would prefer to go to a shop than use digital channels to get advice on the best products and services.

Overinvesting in digital

“Companies have lost sight of the importance of human interaction and often make it too difficult for consumers to get the right level of help and service that they need,” says Jim McGowan

of Accenture Ireland. “Companies wrongly assume that their digital-only customers are their most profitable, and that customer service is a cost. Consequently they overinvest in digital technologies and channels and lose their most profitable customers: multichannel customers who want experiences that cover both digital and traditional channels.”

When it comes to providing good customer service, many companies are still found wanting, the research shows. It reveals that 86 per cent of consumers described it as “extremely frustrating” when dealing with a company that does not make it easy to do business with them.

Another 80 per cent expect customer service to be easier and more convenient than it actually is, and 61 per cent think businesses should be able to deal with their queries and complaints faster.

Complaining on social media about poor customer experience is the norm for 40 per cent of consumers, who take to social channels in order to vent.

“A high proportion of Irish customers who had a negative customer service experience wrote about it on social media and are more likely to seek information about a potential provider on online comparison sites, from people they know or from online discussion forums, than they are from traditional marketing sources,” McGowan says. “So when forming a marketing or engagement strategy, it might be worth prioritising how to use customer experience to generate positive word of mouth over more traditional forms of marketing.”

Forever lost

The report also suggests that once a provider loses a customer, the chances are they have lost that customer forever: 57 per cent of those polled say they would not go back to a provider they have deserted. But there are measures companies can take to hold on to customers who are considering taking their business elsewhere.

The vast majority of switchers – 88 per cent – feel the company could have done something to retain them, with 74 per cent saying that if companies offered them better live or in-person customer service, it would have made them less likely to take their business elsewhere.

The Accenture survey offers pointers to companies seeking “to rebalance their digital and traditional customer-service channels”.

It is all pretty simple stuff. Accenture’s first piece of advice is that companies put the human and physical elements back into customer service. Businesses will impress consumers more if they rethink their investment strategy. “The focus should be on delivering satisfying customer experiences, not methods of interaction. Ensure your channel management approach delivers integrated experiences,” it says.

We can be fussy, however. One minute we might fancy dealing with a company on Twitter and the next we might prefer to talk to someone on the telephone. The companies that will do best will make it easy for customers to switch channels to get the experiences they want.

“Build customer-service channels that enable consumers to fluidly move from digital to human interaction to get the outcomes they desire,” the survey says.

Borrowing from the recent Ryanair playbook, the report says that the next key thing for companies to do to improve customers' experience is to "root out toxicity". Businesses should "define and address the most toxic customer experiences across all channels. These experiences can directly impact profitability. Identify the experiences that have the greatest potential downside and leverage those insights to guide an investment strategy."

It also emphasises the need for personal data security to be guaranteed: 87 per cent of consumers said it was extremely important that companies protect the privacy of their personal information.

“By not selling or sharing customer data with other companies, and guaranteeing that safeguards are in place to protect it, consumers will be more willing to hand over personal information, which can be leveraged to deliver better experiences,” it says.