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Great service is consumers' number one reason for giving companies more of their business, according to a new study on the emotional and business impact of bad customer experiences. Yet 90 percent of consumers polled said they have had negative experiences with companies.

The customers said they swear, shout, get headaches, and even cry as a result of negative experiences with the companies they buy from. Worse, from a management perspective, they never do business with the same company again.

The Customer Experience Impact Report, conducted by Harris Interactive and sponsored by RightNow Technologies, reveals how bad experiences tangibly affect both customers and companies. It also indicates that providing positive customer experiences is a fundamental requirement for market success.

In fact, respondents cited, "outstanding service," as the number one reason why they would give more of their business to one company over another. It ranked ahead of both lowest price and best quality. Among the other findings are:

• 68 percent will never go back to a company as the result of a negative experience.
• 71 percent attributed poor customer experiences to inadequate staff training.
• 68 percent see a company's ability to resolve their issue on the first contact as a primary requirement for their satisfaction.

"Providing exceptional customer experiences can be the single most powerful way for companies to set themselves apart from competitors," says Greg Gianforte, chief executive officer of RightNow Technologies. The company is a provider of customer relationship management technology, based in Bozeman, MT.

Harris Interactive fielded the study via its QuickQuery online omnibus service and interviewed a nationwide sample of 2,551 adults. The data was weighted to be representative of the total U.S. adult population on the basis of region, age within gender, education, household income, race/ethnicity, and propensity to be online.

For more information and complete study results, visit www.rightnow.com.

Article ID: 98