September 10, 2019
Firm offers a road map for companies to avoid customer churn through transparent, repeated communications
Escalent, a top human behavior and analytics firm, today published a study examining customer expectations during the merger or acquisition of telecom providers. The piece offers a number of recommendations for companies facing these enormous changes to maintain consumer confidence and satisfaction throughout the process.
What Customers Expect from a Merger or Acquisition translates consumer expectations into a road map telecom providers can follow to grow and preserve a transparent, connected relationship with their customers.
“During a company merger, a transparent customer communication strategy from start to finish plays a pivotal role in customer brand loyalty and service satisfaction,” said Jeffrey Johnson, senior director of Escalent’s telecom division. “Mergers and acquisitions are fairly commonplace for telecoms. Consistent communication before, during and after a merger can prevent churn and even strengthen the provider-customer relationship.”
Findings outlined within the study include:
- Two-thirds (66%) of respondents have strong feelings of curiosity or caution regarding mergers, while just one quarter felt indifferent toward the process.
- The top customer concerns for the result of mergers were service offerings and cost.
- Most importantly, consumers indicated their desire for open, honest communications from the merging company regarding the process and outcomes. A communications strategy for customers should:
- Explain the benefits of the merger
- Describe how the merger will affect products, services and pricing
- Educate customer service staff to quickly address customer concerns
- Use preferred communication channels
Consumer attitudes and experiences illustrate a gap between consumer expectations and company communications during the merger process. By considering customer preferences and feelings towards the merger process, companies experiencing them can make a successful transition for shareholders, executives, employees and most importantly, customers.
Click below to learn more about What Customers Expect from a Merger or Acquisition.
About the study
Escalent interviewed a national sample of consumers aged 18 and older including 1,014 consumers from April 10 to 14, 2017, 1,003 consumers from April 4 to 6, 2018, and 1,007 consumers from August 15 to 23, 2018. Respondents were recruited from the Full Circle opt-in online panel of US adults and interviewed online. The data were weighted by age and gender to match the demographics of the US population. Due to its opt-in nature, this online panel (like most others) does not yield a random probability sample of the target population. As such, it is not possible to compute a margin of error or to statistically quantify the accuracy of projections. Escalent will supply the exact wording of any survey question upon request.