Older consumers are more likely to be loyal to a brand for a long period of time, but they are also more likely to boycott a brand for the poor customer service they received, new research has revealed.

Cloud mobile and online business messaging solutions provider LivePerson has released the results of its consumer research that explores what drives Australian brand loyalty.

According to the research, 41.8 per cent of respondents said they would switch brands if the brand provided poor customer service, and 20.9 per cent of respondents said they would switch after a single bad customer service experience.

Furthermore, 52 per cent of older consumers (aged 45 and over) report having a ‘nemesis’ brand – a brand they will never do business with again because of the poor customer service they received.

The study also found that 31.7 per cent of respondents have been loyal to the same brand for more than 10 years, with 23.6 per cent spending more than $1,000 with their preferred brand per year.

Older consumers are more likely to be loyal to a brand for 10 or more years (50.5 per cent versus 21.1 per cent, while nearly 20 per cent of those aged 18 to 44 admitted to cursing or being rude to customer care agents.

According to LivePerson’s research. 45.9 per cent of respondents believe quality drives loyalty, followed by price (16.1 per cent) and good customer service (15.1 per cent).

Interestingly, customer service is the loyalty driver with the most longevity; 53 per cent of those who stated customer service was the most important factor have been loyal to the same brand for more than 10 years.

Over a third (35.9 per cent) of consumers either don’t tell brands they are dissatisfied or simply stop shopping with them. This figure is far higher for younger Aussies (18 to 34 years old), with 47.4 per cent ‘going silent’ following a poor brand experience.

LivePerson’s regional vice president for the Asia-Pacific region, Andrew Cannington, said the concerning thing for brands is that many may not even be aware they are losing customers.

“More often than not, brand loyalty comes back to the customer experience,” he said.

“That means brands have make it easy and simple for consumers to communicate with them.