Solving Singapore’s customer retention problem

People crossing a Singapore city street with motion blur

Singapore’s brands are falling out of touch with the customers they purport to serve, according to recent ServiceNow’s recent report, The CX Shift: A study of customer expectations in the Al era.

While digital technologies like AI are having positive effects on some customers’ experiences, 80% of Singaporean customers still prefer to get on the phone when looking to resolve an issue.

Yet only 9% of Singaporean executives plan to prioritize human-staffed phone service over the next three years. Instead, they’re doubling down on digital-only channels that don’t align with customers’ top preferences.

This misalignment extends well beyond the call center. While 48% of Singaporeans count a lack of empathy as one of their top customer experience (CX) frustrations, only 28% of executives believe unempathetic service to be a key customer issue.

Furthermore, 83% of Singaporean customers would prefer to use self-service options for simple issues before calling a service rep. But only 36% of executives are prioritizing such options for investment. This can negatively affect customer retention.

Easier to switch than solve

The situation is making customers more frustrated and service reps more burnt out—even as executives pour money into the latest agentic AI systems. Facing this, customers find it easier to change providers than try to solve their current issues.

When faced with poor or slow service, 52% of customers switch to competitors while 42% vent to family and friends. This erodes loyalty and reputation in an already hypercompetitive market.

It’s not surprising then that more than half (52%) of Singaporean executives report high customer churn rates while almost one-third (31%) are seeing revenue decline.

Sorting out the systems

The misalignment stems from fragmented systems and siloed data. It leaves Singaporean executives and customer service reps blind to their customers’ complex and nuanced needs.

Singapore’s customer service reps, on average, use more than four different systems to resolve a customer issue. This status quo leaves 40% of customers frequently frustrated by having to repeat themselves to different people or re-enter information.

83% of service reps must log into three to five systems to resolve a customer issue; 377% of service reps agree they need better technology that links their systems together

To close these gaps, Singaporean executives need a single source of truth that unites all relevant customer data, enterprise applications, work processes, and employee resources.

Only then can leaders clearly see their customers’ complex needs, identify changing conditions, and coordinate how both service reps and AI systems respond.

This is exactly what ServiceNow AI Control Tower achieves by consolidating all apps, data, and workflows on a single platform with central governance, management, and security.

Humans do better with an AI control tower

ServiceNow AI Control Tower gives employees oversight of the customer journey so they can deliver an experience that’s both efficient and empathetic.

Today, service reps spend just 35% of their time directly addressing customer issues. Admin tasks and manually summarizing customer interactions consume the bulk of their time.

These low-value, repetitive tasks are ripe for AI agents that can perform them quickly and consistently. However, that only happens when agents can reach across systems to get, and act upon, a full and accurate picture of the customer.

Free time for service reps to focus on customers... % of Singapore's service reps that say that AI has decreased time spent on key activities: 52% summarising call notes; 46% handling admin tasks; 35% reporting and analysing data; 38% chasing teams for information

When that happens, service reps can focus on delivering empathy and support where customers need and expect a human touch.

Service reps are ready to partner with AI, whether leaders recognize it or not. One in every two executives believes customer service teams lack AI skills and knowledge.

However, AI has already made work better for many customer service reps: 53% report that it has materially decreased admin and routine tasks, while 44% say it’s reduced the burden and stress of their workloads.

Right now, 60% of Singaporeans say AI has improved their experience as customers, yet they’re also finding their underling needs unmet and ready to walk away from brands if things get worse.

Singaporean brands will narrow their customer service gaps and get the most out of AI, when they unify their people, processes, and systems. This will give them a clearer picture of their customers’ complex needs and how to meet them.

Organizations that bring AI and humans together to understand and meet customer needs will emerge the winners in Singapore and beyond.

Find out how ServiceNow can help you transform experiences to improve customer retention.