The study gathered opinions from 18,000 consumers in nine countries, and was carried out by Verint Systems with support from analyst and consultancy firm Ovum and research company Opinium. It revealed that 48% of consumers were suspicious about how their data was used by companies. However, 43% agreed that when companies make mistakes, they are more likely to be forgiving towards those companies that they believe understand them.

“This study is a wake-up call for brands looking to revamp their customer service to cater to today’s more demanding and better-informed customers,” said Jeremy Cox, principal analyst, customer engagement, Ovum.

“While brands have the ability to precision-target highly personalised communications for every single customer, the study shows what people around the world actually value most are the basics — questions answered with minimal effort on their part.”