The next decade will be a case of 'the quick and the dead', with Australian businesses needing to increase the speed of delivery to customers while maintaining quality to remain competitive.
Companies must maintain service standards in the face of 'the need for speed' is the second key finding - or 'megatrend' - to be released from BDO's Service 2020 report.
The report found that 87 per cent of Asia-Pacific companies said that clients expected faster service than they did five years ago.
BDO National Retail Sector Leader, Eric Passaris said the increasing role of technology in our society was the driver behind increasing expectation levels, with regards to service delivery speed.
"Today's need-it-now online society has sharply changed perceptions of customer service," Mr Passaris said.
"Increasingly, customers don't want it tomorrow - they want it now, with the same level of quality.
"Speed has become a key competitive differentiator. Companies will have to figure out where in their business processes they can speed up service delivery without compromising on quality.
"Australian businesses will need to continue to embrace technology to develop new channels for service delivery.
"Companies will need to have a greater focus on mobile devices, social media and instant messaging over traditional channels like in-person sales forces, telephones and mail.
"The companies that will prosper will find the right balance between maintaining the elements that made them successful while introducing new technologies to increase the speed of service delivery for the future."
Service 2020: Megatrends for the decade ahead is a BDO Global report written by the Economist Intelligence Unit capturing the views of 479 business leaders world-wide.
BDO Australia National Chairman Tony Schiffmann said the Service 2020 report provided a valuable blueprint for the prioritisation of service development opportunities over the coming decade.
"The Service 2020 report explores how successful organisations have built - and sustained - excellent client service, and outlines eight predictions on how customer service will change in the coming decade," Mr Schiffmann said.
The research findings fall into eight 'megatrends' which will define service in the coming decade. The eight trends are:
- Global competition will drive up service standards
- Companies must maintain service standards in the face of 'the need for speed'
- Firms must learn to use the increased transparency brought by social media to their advantage
- Companies must use new sources and types of data to rethink the way they track and personalise their service
- Good employees will remain fundamental to good service but with technology as an enabler
- More firms will outsource aspects of customer service to new kinds of specialists
- The rise of the mass affluent and other customer segments will force companies to find new product or service niches
- Customer expectations, including the purpose of the store, are evolving with new technology.
The study drills down to the Asia Pacific detail on each of these eight megatrends, which will be released separately by BDO over the coming months.
The Full report is available now free of charge at www.bdo.com.au/service2020 or by emailing service2020@bdo.com.au