UK brands are struggling to cope with a rising volume of queries and growing consumer expectations, according to a new report.

The Eptica survey found that only 44 per cent of companies answered routine questions asked on the web, email, Twitter and Facebook, down from 49 per cent in 2016.

Social media saw the biggest fall, potentially driven by its increasing use by consumers as a customer service channel. Just 34 per cent of tweets and 35 per cent of Facebook messages received a successful answer, despite 94 per cent of companies advertising their Twitter handles, and 89 per cent having Facebook pages.

Performance has dropped substantially – in 2016 48 per cent of tweets and 45 per cent of Facebook messages received an accurate response.

Olivier Njamfa, CEO and co-founder of Epitca, said: “Brands today face a growing challenge when it comes to customer experience. Consumers are ever-more demanding, and expect fast, high quality and informed conversations with brands if they are to remain loyal.

However, our research shows that many brands are finding it difficult to cope with the sheer volume of queries they receive, particularly on social media. Failure to dedicate sufficient resources to customer experience, or to deploy new technologies such as artificial intelligence to support staff will ultimately hit the bottom line, as consumers switch to rivals who offer them the service they demand.”

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