Recent findings on the quality of service provided by UK mobile operators, broadband, landline and TV providers reveal that more than one in three call centre or email support interactions leave customers either indifferent or unhappy with the experience[1].

If we stick our necks out and factor in contact frequencies over the course of a year and gross up to represent the UK adult population, this equates to somewhere around 30 million missed opportunities to create closer bonds with customers. Disappointing customer service is often highlighted as a key driver of customer churn, so the billions (yes, billions!) these customers spend each year with their telecoms providers represent a nice little carrot for those providers who most effectively address this problem.

In February 2012, the TechTalk blog highlighted the growing threat to business data security coming from the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend, and the increasing problem of corporate data being downloaded and saved to employee-owned mobile devices. This is a significant problem for many businesses, and one they must address as a matter of urgency. The rising profile of this issue was emphasised at the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona in March, and at the 2012 RSA conference, where mobile data security and mobile device management was one of the, if not the, key topic.

The trend towards BYOD is irreversible, and the risks are clear

As businesses (in particular, IT departments) come to terms with the exponential growth of BYOD there has been a widespread acceptance that there’s no going back; employee-owned mobile devices are in the workplace to stay.

We have all undergone a call centre experience – and the word undergone is apt, given that the pain and tedium can make the experience akin to a visit to the dentist, but without the fresh feeling at the end. Service organisations love them though, and for good reason; they offer an efficient, structured and consistent way (for them) to handle a large volume of customer enquiries.

All our customer requests are slightly different and, as such, we need to be guided through the process effectively, something call centres are good at. They also have established structures and metrics to manage them such as call volume counts, time-to-answer, and sales conversions. These frameworks allow companies to exert a large degree of control over the customer interaction; we are subject to dedicated opening hours set by the business, IVR directing the flow customer traffic, having to self-select an issue and choose from a menu delivered by an automated voice, or worse, being asked to vocalise the issue ourselves to a blankly, uncomprehending, synthesised voice.

There are often debates on the importance and role of brands in the B2B world.  Is brand perception driven totally by satisfaction with the customer experience?  Clearly more rational aspects such as product performance, experience and value are critical components, but in today’s procurement-led selection of suppliers and partners, is there a place for the softer, more emotional dimensions of a brand – and what implication does this have for the assessment of brand performance in the B2B arena?

At a strategic level, brands are brands, irrespective of the sector in which they operate, although with a seemingly more rational set of decision-making criteria, brands in the B2B world would appear to be built around rational benefits, value and service.  Interestingly though, one regularly-quoted brand saying from the 1970’s playing strongly in the emotional space is from the B2B arena:

‘No-one ever got fired for choosing IBM’

The growing trend of employees using personal smartphones for work purposes is a headache for IT departments, and a data security nightmare. With an estimated 2.7million personally-owned smartphones in the UK currently containing confidential company and client data it is time for businesses to act.

How well protected is my data?

This is already a question that will be disturbing the sleep patterns of executives and privacy conscious citizens alike. Businesses in a variety of industries depend on data security and the trust of their customers – many of whom are all too aware of the increasing amount of data collected by businesses with each interaction. The results of a recent GfK survey, which found there are approximately 2.7 million personally-owned smartphones in the UK carrying confidential company and client data, are guaranteed to give even the most laissez-faire something to think about in the dark hours.

Synopsis:

While austerity measures in the face of economic uncertainty are curtailing IT spending among small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) in the UK and USA, we still see that many are keen to invest in technology to help develop their businesses. Mobile working solutions and social networking are key emerging technology trends for companies of this size – however, it is evident that not all are aware of the IT security risks presented by adopting such practices.

In 2011, the Average I.T. Security Breach Cost Small-to-Medium Businesses 3-4 Days to Rectify. In partnership with a key client, GfK is conducting ongoing research to understand how the Small-to-Medium Business (SMB) markets in the UK and USA are behaving in terms of their usage and needs of technology and Security Software.
Five key highlights have emerged from this research, carried out in 2011.

Mobile technology used in everyday life has become the equal of, and in some cases has surpassed, the mobile technology businesses are giving employees for work purposes. This has brought unprecedented challenges for businesses as employees increasingly access work email and data from personal devices, and take the lead on demanding which technology they are provided with by their employer. The approach businesses take to resolving this issue will significantly influence their IT policies over the coming years.

With consumer smartphone usage growing rapidly, and an equally rapid growth in the number of businesses providing smartphones to their employees, there are many ‘employed consumers’ who now use two smartphones in daily life. Similarity in the form and function of these devices has lead to questions regarding the necessity of carrying both, and as a result there is increasing pressure on company IT departments to either allow employees to use their personal devices for work purposes or provide consumer friendly devices.