Product category:
Telemarketing
News Release from: Navigator Customer Management | Subject: UK product recalls
Edited by the Marketingservicestalk Editorial
Team on 06 May 2008
Number of UK product recalls doubles
New research from Navigator CM has found that the amount of product recalls issued in the UK has been soaring over the past few years, more than doubling from 112 in 2004 to 253 in 2007.
The risks to businesses are serious A recent Harris Interactive poll found that following a recall for health and safety reasons 55 per cent of customers would "temporarily purchase another brand and then purchase the recalled brand once it was safe", 15 per cent would "purchase another brand and never purchase the recalled brand again" and 21 per cent would "avoid using any brand made by the manufacturer of the recalled projects"
This article was originally published on Marketingservicestalk on 5 Dec 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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Given the vastly increased number of calls, companies find that existing care line facilities are not sufficient to cope with demand and yet the rate at which product recalls are rising is outstripping the rate at which appropriate contingency centres are being set up.
Rob Denton, Managing Director of Navigator, said: "This is a critical and growing issue for consumer brands.
"The upward trend has exposed an area of brand risk where many brands simply do not have contingency facilities in place.
"And no worse impression is created, nor brand damage done, than in the situation where a company is uncontactable or unhelpful just when consumer concerns have been escalated by a product recall".
The report claimed that the increase could be ascribed to several factors.
First, new product safety legislation introduced in 2005 requires manufacturers to inform both the authorities and consumers of any potential risk from their products.
Secondly, consumers and authorities are increasingly aware of potential hazards.
Thirdly, manufacturers are increasingly sourcing ingredients, components and packaging from further afield where they have less control over the supply chain and legislation may not be wholly in line with that of Europe.
Health risk was the most common reason for a recall being issued (21 per cent of all recalls), with risk of choking (19 per cent), risk of fire (14 per cent) and risk of electric shock (14 per cent) also important causes.
The report ('Recall - The Rising Risk: A study of recall trends in the UK') was compiled by Navigator Customer Management, a relationship marketing agency.
The report also found noticeable, though less dramatic, increases in the amount of food and pharmaceutical product recalls.
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