New whitepaper examines the direct connections between support services and consumer engagement with connected solutions

Parks Associates today released a new whitepaper Next-Generation Support: Building an Engagement Platform, which finds over 33% of CE device owners report experiencing problems with their device over the past year. The whitepaper notes that even as these problems could extend to damage a brand’s reputation, they present an opportunity for service providers and device manufacturers to launch new support strategies that can secure new business and loyal customers by delivering superior support and smart home experiences.

“Technical problems with devices can impact brand loyalty—29% of consumers who indicate their devices were difficult to set up ended up switching to a different brand. Brand abandonment rose to 49% when consumers reported setup was very difficult,” said Patrice Samuels, Senior Analyst, Parks Associates. “Building a positive brand experience is no longer limited to the operation of a single product. An entire ecosystems of connected devices and services influences a customer’s experience, and a service provider or manufacturer has to account for all these factors.”

Problems with connectivity are the leading issues among connected device owners, which can lower consumer confidence in devices and services that promise to deliver security, safety, or health use cases. Proactive support is important for managing the consumer experience with these devices. Thirty-three percent of smart home device owners find a proactive service that resolves technical problems highly appealing.

“Support services are instrumental for building and sustaining valuable customer relationships,” Samuels said. “As brands seek to leverage support to build better customer relationships, they must transform these services in several ways to address issues more proactively and make it easier for consumers to access and receive support.”

The whitepaper details proactive support solutions, as well as self-help and professional support solutions that diagnose and resolve technical problems. Additional research from Next-Generation Support: Building an Engagement Platform:

• Over 50% of consumers who set up smart home devices on their own experience a problem.
• Only 47% of US broadband households that received technical support services over the past 12 months are very satisfied with the speed at which their problem was resolved and the resources available to the agent to address their concern.
   

To download this whitepaper, visit https://www.parksassociates.com/whitepapers/next-gen-wp2020. To schedule an interview with an analyst or to request specific research data, please contact Elizabeth Parks at eparks@parksassociates.com or 972-996-0202.

About Parks Associates

Parks Associates is a global research, consulting, and marketing firm with 40 years of experience delivering proprietary consumer data and industry insights for businesses. The firm produces market research reports, forecasts, surveys, and competitive business intelligence on connected consumer, small business, and commercial technologies and related business solutions. Parks Associates provides custom research, strategic consulting, and forward-looking analysis across connected home, small business, and commercial markets, including security, smart home, broadband, entertainment, energy, multifamily, smart buildings, connected health, and emerging AI-driven technologies.

Parks Associates supports industry growth through proprietary research, consulting, and executive networking and convenes thousands of leaders each year through its flagship conferences, including CONNECTIONS™, Connected Health Summit, Smart Energy Summit, Smart Spaces, and Future of Video. Learn more at https://www.parksassociates.com.

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