A new study from Satmetrix shows that companies are wasting billions on attracting new customers through advertising whilst delivering a poor customer experience that has forced over 10 million consumers to switch suppliers  in the last six months alone.

Only 2% of respondents trust advertising the most as a source of information when choosing a product or service.  Instead, almost half of consumers (49%) see personal recommendations from friends, family or colleagues as the most trustworthy source of information. And, over seven times as many people (15%) trust consumer opinions posted online than trust advertising.

This report is a clear signal from UK consumers -‘Focus on me and the experience I receive or I’m off.’ But the results show that the cost to a company doesn’t stop with a lost customer. While 2% might trust what they read in an advert, almost two thirds of consumers (64%) look to other consumers to guide their purchase decisions, As a result, the survey shows that a negative experience will lead to a negative recommendation and with it the loss of a new customer.

The survey shows that we live in the Recommendation Generation and that the key to what gets recommended is the experience a customer receives. The companies that understand this and have invested in customer experience programmes are already leaving their competitors in their wake by creating loyal advocates.

Satmetrix’s survey was based on 5100 consumers in the UK. When asked which sources of information they trust the most when choosing products or services, respondents replied:

• 49%     Recommendations from friends, family, or colleagues
• 22%     Product test reviews
• 15%     Consumer opinions posted online
• 6%       Media articles (magazine, newspaper, television)
• 2%       Advertising
• 2%       Direct mail
• 4%       Other