This feature in The Drum showcases the results of a recent survey conducted by benchmarking firm Global Reviews, which studies the behaviour of online customers seeking out a new current account provider. Click through to read more.

This article from Call Centre UK highlights self-service as a key trend in consumer behaviour, and the need for organisations to provide such support to their customers on the web, through mobile and social channels as well as IVR. The results are based on the 2012 Global Contact Centre Benchmarking Report compiled by BPO solutions provider Merchants. Read on for more.

This Marketing Week article highlights the opportunities presented by complaining customers on social media, offering brands deeper customer insight. It also goes on to emphasise the importance of aligning customer services and marketing departments to deal with customer concerns on social channels. Read on to know more.

This article from Marketing Week contains an insightful summary of the trends and headlines from the retail sector in the UK this year. From multi-channel shopping and loyalty schemes to promoting 'Britishness' and the spirit of Christmas. Click through to read more.

Can employee engagement have a positive effect on your contact centre? This article on www.callcentre.co.uk highlights how Virgin Media and Asda are looking after their employees. Read on to find out how both brands are driving employee engagement in a bid to increase the performance of their contact centres.

In this callcentre.co.uk article, two advocates of social media customer service talk about how establishing a digital presence can benefit a business. Read on to find out how they have expanded their own businesses through social media and the challenges they have faced along the way.

This TechWeek Europe article contains an overview of financial service provider Barclays' intention of introducing iPads in certain branches to improve customer experience and reduce waiting times. This move aims to improve their services through the adoption of innovative technology, both online and in their branches. Read on for the rest of the story.

Energy Provider Npower has launched an online forum to facilitate customer interaction in an effort to increase transparency and improve brand experience. The company aims to pull together conversations from their social media channels and offer customers a destination to read reviews, share tips and keep abreast of news and updates. Click through to read the rest of the article on Marketing Week.

An article in this week's Marketing Week highlights the struggle faced by both financial institutions as well as retailers in gaining consumer trust in their financial services. While there is a huge opportunity for retailers to win over more customers, how will banks and other financial institutions fare in the competition? Read on for more.

 At the recent European Call Centres & Customer Service Awards held on the first evening of the Call Centre & Customer Management Expo, LV= won the award for best customer service in financial services. LV= was recognised for its excellent service attitude, focus on customer experience and continuous improvement, among other factors. Read on for information on the Expo and the Awards.

Energy regulator Ofgem are hoping to make energy bills clearer for customers by forcing providers to reveal their cheapest prices.  This article in The Telegraph reveals how the regulator aims to increase transparency in the market, and what effect this will have on energy customers.

Two thirds of brands say that social media is vital to their overall business strategy, according to new research by E-Consultancy and Adobe.  Read on to find out how many are using social media for both brand awareness, and as a customer service tool.

Almost 2 thirds of UK broadband customers would never return to a provider they experienced problems with.  This study by ISPreview.co.uk demonstrates the need for superior customer service in the utilities sector, and highlights the number of customers willing to switch providers after a poor experience. Read on for more.

Customer feedback can influence a business in many ways.  In this Marketing Week article, six professionals across six different industries explain how important customer data is to them, and how insight has shaped their business strategies and processes.

Brands are now using social media to help them drive loyalty amongst their customers, a recent Marketing Week article explains. Read on to find out how brands such as Costa Coffee, Play.com and HMV are adding apps and social media platforms to enhance their customer data and create a better service for their customers.

An article in MarketingWeek about online entertainment retailer Play.com and its Facebook fans, who are worth 24% more in direct sales to the company than non-fans. An interesting insight into the value of social customers for online brands. This article provides a degree of understanding into the debate around the RoI for social media and quantifying online customers.

Knowing who your customers actually are has never been more important. MarketingWeek reveals that 55% of people have switched brands in the last year — meaning that treating customers well to encourage loyalty is key. A study has also shown that 45% of respondents would not accept a lower price in return for lower standards of service. Read more of this article from Lucy Handley.

Often as a consumer, you may experience a different standard of service or experience than you expected. This could be due to the way in which a company wants to be perceived versus the service it actually delivers. It could also suggest that company representatives have not bought in to the company’s message. Russell Parsons shared his views in this MarketingWeek article.

In this short MarketingWeek article, Ruth Mortimer shares the story of a successful, apparently customer-focused small business that had been held in high regard for it's brilliant customer experience and how its great image has been tarnished by one or two comments. Do you live your values every day? How do you protect yourself from negative perception? Can you ruin your reputation entirely overnight? This is a real lesson on brand protection and how the external image you build can be exposed and knocked down in no time at all.

In this short article for MyCustomer.com, Mike McMaster explores customer insight, what it means to the customer and for the business, and if companies are really getting the best from their 'research'.

Barclaycard are due to launch a mobile phone accessory encouraging contactless payments for their customers.  Read this MarketingWeek article to see how the firm hopes this release will affect their customers’ experience and the industry as a whole.

Manufacturing in the UK may be on the rise once more, with fewer firms facing insolvency than at the start of the year. Find out what a study by Begbie Traynor, a firm who monitors company financial stress, have found, and what they predict for the manufacturing industry in the coming months!

In this Forbes article, Brenna Sniderman of Forbes Insights explores a recent study that isolates and identifies five major personalities crucial to fostering a healthy atmosphere of innovation within an organization. Read more to find out which one fits you best.

Working long hours may have become a sign of commitment to your company, job, or your colleagues. But is it the right thing to do all of the time? In this article, freelance writer Jessica Stillman explores why the average 55-hour working week may not be as productive as once thought.

In this article on MarketingWeek, Ruth Mortimer highlights the flurry of responses to another recent article on the rebrand of marketing. More and more people are talking about a holistic view of the business and seeing marketing as a hub of communication and engagement, rather than a department that just shares company messages. We agree. Awareness, engagement, and experience are outlined in our very own regional marketing strategy.

Many consumer-focused organisations have adopted — or at least thought about — a multichannel communication strategy for their business.  Some have implemented very well, but others have followed a trend without really thinking how best to serve their customers.  In this article on MyCustomer.com, Kurt Bager explores how to adopt online customer service and how to implement it effectively.

At a time when the economic situation has forced many businesses to focus on price to attract and retain customers, how has the environment changed the mindset of employees toward their employer? It is true that there are other companies that have chosen to promote quality and experience over price, not wishing to undervalue their products or services. Has this also made a difference to how they have chosen to retain a good workforce? In this article from MarketingWeek, employee engagement and values are explored against price — do people still move for money over anything else?

Ernst & Young have issued a report titled “Voice of the Customer, Time for Insurers to Rethink Their Relationships 2012″. This report is based on a survey of 27,000 customers across 7 regions and covering 23 countries. In this article on MyCustomer.com, Maz Iqbal explores the results of the research and what it means for the F&I industry.

In the week that mobile technology company O2 announced a complete overhaul of its website to create a better online customer experience, Sally Cowdry, marketing and consumer director, talks with MarketingWeek online magazine about future plans. As a business also going through brand and strategy changes that reflect more of our customer experience and customer loyalty services, we were keen to read what Sally had to say in this short interview. For those familiar with the brand, we are sure you will find the technology ideas and focus on customer impact just as interesting.

As an advocate of better customer insight, we were pleased to hear that some big brands are increasing their efforts to understand more about their customers and product experiences. Interestingly, some big global names are choosing to do this directly rather than through retailers, using online camparison sites.

Britain’s top retailer plans to boost sales and customer experience by investing in more staff. As reported in HR Magazine, they also hope to help the wider issue of youth unemployment as the biggest private sector employer by focusing on training and creating opportunities for young people.

Listening to the voice of your customer sounds simple enough, but do you really understand the feedback you receive and how you can use it to improve service delivery in your business? Here, Rachel Fielding talks about recent studies that show not listening to your customer (or not understanding the real cause of poor service) is still losing us all business.

Customer journey mapping is a core part of Percepta's services providing a detailed perspective of your customer's potential interaction with the brand along with strategic recommendations designed to enhance customer satisfaction and boost customer loyalty. Discover customer journey mapping and why author and strategic marketing expert Adam Richardson claims this process is the "first essential step of improving the experience you deliver" in this post on Harvard Business Review's blog.

The words "outsourcing" and "offshoring" have grown to mean the same thing to many people. In fact, many of the best-performing outsourcing partnerships happen in-market, emphasising a desire to collborate expertise as well as to reduce cost. Some even consider and operate an "insourcing" model, where the service provider comes into the client business. Percepta was a finalist in the CCA Excellence Awards for Best Outsource Partnership with this model in 2010. Martyn Hart, posting on outsourcemagazine.co.uk, talks about a major brand bringing its customer service back home with its outsource partner.

Using social media to connect with customers to deliver a service remains new for many organisations, but many others are realising great successes — reduced operating costs and improved customer satisfaction to name just two. Paul Hopkins writes about how best to engage your customer using Facebook.