Customer reviews - Gen Z does not feel taken seriously

Customer experience from the customer's point of view - current study

-Half of Gen Z is annoyed by the many rating requests: Moreover, only 48 percent of teens and twens believe that companies take their ratings seriously.

- Atotal of 88 percent of consumers give their opinion: 78 percent of people evaluate products and services "now and then". Ten percent even give feedback "always" when asked by companies.

-Consumers want companies to respond quickly: 82 percent of consumers would like a direct response to their feedback. But only 30 per cent have received a prompt response so far. 

-Consumer feedback - not much in demand in many sectors: Only one fifth of consumers were asked to rate energy suppliers, banks & insurance companies, car manufacturers and dealers after a purchase or service last year.

Hamburg/Bremen. 03.03.2022. Everyone is talking about customer experience (CX). Bonsai In its current study, Research asked those whom the topic really concerns: the consumers. When are people asked for their evaluations? What do they think of the feedback options and what do they want? And do they believe that companies take their reviews seriously? The results show which industries have some catching up to do when it comes to customer experience management (CEM) and provide important approaches on how companies need to change their feedback culture in the future. 

88 percent of customers give reviews when asked to do so after a purchase, service or repair. Relatively many people experience requests from online shops (71 percent), retail (44 percent) and telecommunication providers (35 percent). "However, classic sectors such as energy suppliers, banks and insurance companies often do without customer feedback," notes Martin Siek, Head of Customer Experience at Bonsai. "Yet there would be enough occasions here where a direct evaluation would be exciting." However, only one fifth of consumers say that they have been asked for feedback from these sectors in the last year after a contact (e.g. conclusion of a contract, service request or claim).

Satisfied customers give feedback even more often than dissatisfiedcustomers
The prejudice that it is mainly disgruntled customers who like to speak up proves to be wrong: almost three quarters of consumers (73 percent) give reviews when they were particularly satisfied. However, more than half of the consumers (52 percent) also react when they were particularly dissatisfied. Other motives are far less important: just under a third of consumers rate products or services when rewards such as vouchers are offered or the company is important to them. "Only particularly positive or particularly negative experiences significantly increase the willingness to provide feedback," says Martin Siek. "It is imperative that companies take this into account in order to interpret customer feedback correctly and react accordingly." It is precisely this (correct) reaction that will become even more important in the future, because:

Gen Z wants feedback on their feedback
89 percent of the young target group would find it positive or very positive if companies contacted them directly after an evaluation. However, so far four out of ten of the young respondents have experienced such a "closed loop". This has consequences: Only 48 percent of Gen Z are still convinced that companies take their reviews seriously. "Companies have to actively show young consumers in particular that their reviews make a difference," emphasises Martin Siek. "Otherwise, the positive basic attitude towards feedback issues will topple." Two-thirds of Gen Z still say they are happy to give feedback when companies ask for it. But already more than half of young customers ignore evaluation requests more often than in the past. Every second young customer says that the many feedback requests are annoying. 

The refusal rate and the annoyance factor are (somewhat) lower among older target groups. However, millennials and baby boomers also trust more that companies take their feedback seriously and use it for improvements. "Everything points to the fact that the scepticism we are already seeing among the young target group will soon also increase among the older ones," warns Martin Siek. "Obtaining ratings and using them internally will no longer be enough in the future. Companies must also communicate to their customers that their feedback is valuable and is really implemented in a tangible way." 

Contact:
Martin Siek, Head of Customer Experience at Bonsai
+49 171 6876503
martin.siek@bonsai-research.com