42% of customer queries to leading UK retailers go unanswered

A telephone off the hook.

More than two fifths (42%) of enquiries are being ignored or left unanswered, with just 13% answered in full and in a timely way.

This is according to a new report that has revealed significant failings when it comes to customer service performance across the UK’s leading retail brands.

The Convers-AI-tional Nation Report, conducted by customer engagement platform CM.com, analysed the performance of the UK’s top 25 retail brands, according to annual turnover...

5 ways your website can create an emotional bond with your customer

A love heart drawn on a window.

Numerous studies have shown that emotions and instinct, rather than rational thought, are more often the driving forces behind consumer behavior and purchasing decisions.

When customers feel a deep emotional bond with a brand, it is known as ‘brand intimacy’.

Brand Intimacy agency MBLM’s annual study of US consumers’ emotional connections with the brands that they use confirms that the brands that create the most brand intimacy are also the fastest growing...

Less than half of UK businesses respond to online reviews

Smiley faces with a tick next to a happy face.

Just 44% of UK business respond to online reviews, according to a cross-category online brand reputation study of more than 500 organisations.

Moreover, 38% do not have local branch pages, and less than half (42%) employ UTM performance marketing tracking.

The study, conducted by digital performance marketing agency DAC Group, audited businesses across seven categories - automotive, fashion, finance, health & fitness, food & beverage, land & property and...

Cannabis marketing platform Surfside raises £2.9 million

Someone weighing cannabis.

Surfside, an end-to-end marketing platform that turns first party customer data into personalised marketing for the cannabis industry, has raised $4 million (£2.9m) in Seed funding. 

Casa Verde led the round and Karan Wadhera, the firm's managing partner, will join Surfside's board of directors.

Surfside launched at the beginning of 2019 to help cannabis brands and dispensaries reach customers by delivering advertisements across connected devices. The technology is...

Half of marketers feel their companies fall short on customers’ expectations

A customer being served.

Almost half (48%) of CMOs believe the customer experience their organisations deliver falls below or significantly below their customers’ expectations. 

That’s despite more than three quarters (79%) recognising that delivering a premium customer experience is a powerful competitive advantage.

This is according to new MarTech Alliance and Treasure Data release new research, in which 200 markets in the UK, France and Germany were surveyed.

Stifling...