The third sector far from first place when it comes to contactability

19 September 2018 – Charity sector contactability standards need to improve according to a recent survey. In an environment where public opinion regarding professional standards within charitable enterprises has taken some hard knocks, it’s now essential for the third sector to step up their game in rebuilding their public image.

Yonder Digital Group surveyed 2,000 UK consumers across a range of sectors, asking whether organisations were easy to get in touch with and resolved their queries rapidly and effectively.

Charities scored surprisingly low, clocking up the third worst score in the ‘poor’ category for contact management with 23% of UK consumers rating the third sector’s contactability standard as poor and 34% as basic.

SECTOR Ease of Contact standard

Excellent Good Basic Poor

Online-only retailers 25% 33% 28% 14%
Banks 24% 34% 28% 14%
Hotels 23% 37% 31% 9%
Electrical appliance brands 20% 37% 30% 13%
Supermarkets/Department Stores 19% 34% 33% 14%
White goods brands 19% 34% 32% 15%
Mobile phone companies 17% 33% 33% 17%
Charities 17% 26% 34% 23%
Utility companies 17% 33% 32% 18%
Internet providers 16% 31% 34% 19%
Insurance companies 16% 32% 37% 15%
DIY stores 13% 29% 42% 16%
Fashion shops 12% 29% 41% 18%
Car brands 11% 24% 46% 19%
Delivery firms 10% 27% 39% 24%
Airlines 10% 26% 41% 23%

Given recent regulatory fines, parliamentary criticism and media scandals, charities need to urgently focus on their public image and improving their contactability standards can be an effective first step in this direction. Providing donors with easy access to contact details, and a range of options for getting in touch is an important indicator of transparency.

To improve their contactability standard charities should specifically focus on some specific areas such as: the full integration of customer data systems, transparency and auditability and the introduction of technology as well as merging all channels into a seamless experience. Providing multi-channel support allows the organisation to be more responsive and efficient in answering queries, which is crucial if you want to improve donor service and therefore satisfaction.

Graham Ede, CEO of Yonder Digital Group, comments, “Customer service is a top requirement for customers satisfaction and can convert critics into fans through effective query resolution. In light of the recent issues facing the third sector, observers might have expected higher than average standards of contactability. To meet these expectations charities should focus on improving their customer service through seamless enquiry handling across all channels and implementing an omni-channel CX to offer support 24/7. The third sector can start the rebuilding of their public image through donor satisfaction and offering a great service is the only way of achieving it”.

For further advice on how to implement excellent contactability, please find the full report here: https://yonderdigitalgroup.com/charities-contactability/

About Yonder Digital Group

Yonder Digital Group www.yonderdigitalgroup.com leverages over 20 years operational experience in outsourced contact centre delivery and technological innovation. We service clients across a range of industries with our 24/7 omni-channel approach rooted in expert analysis of customer behaviour and optimising returns from every brand touch-point.

Yonder boasts 700+ advisor seats across two UK centres-of-excellence in Bristol and Ipswich powered by cutting edge technology, data analytics, tools and insight, helps its clients to create seamless brand interactions, meaningful and memorable contacts across multiple channels and to drive a measurable ROI alongside uplifts in revenues and customer satisfaction.

Yonder Digital Group
Melford Court, The Havens,
Ransomes Europark, Ipswich, IP3 9SJ

0203 319 3747

This release was published on openPR.