The number of customers opting to express their grievances via digital platforms like social media, rather than in-person or by phone, has reportedly tripled between 2017 and 2020. This trend not only places an increasing demand on businesses to expand their social media customer service capabilities, but also highlights how crucial it is for organisations to use these digital platforms as customer channels to deliver on the promise of customer centrality.
For UK-based financial services businesses, this is fast becoming a matter of regulatory concern, as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) continues its quest to improve levels of consumer protection in retail financial markets.
Most recently, the FCA announced its intention to drive a fundamental shift in the mindset of regulated organisations, by implementing a new Consumer Duty. While currently still in the consultation phase, the expectation is that when this new duty is finalised, retail financial organisations will need to put consumers at the heart of their products or services or risk facing fines from the regulator.
To test the relevance of social media data in the context of market conduct reporting, social customer conversation and complaints data about 15 major UK financial organisations was categorised according to the four identified outcomes in the Consumer Duty.
The Consumer Duty report was written by Davies Consulting Group in collaboration with DataEQ.