Businesses planning for the future must ensure they take steps to meet consumer expectations through customer service, a provider of customer experience management technology has suggested.

Geoff Galat, vice president of worldwide marketing for Tealeaf, said consumer expectations are rising all the time and this is a particular challenge for businesses that operate online.

He added that consumers have also been given a voice through social media, increasing the online echo chamber.

Mr Galat noted that when business planning, firms need to ensure they improve online customer experiences and monitor what is being said about them on the web.

"As the online world becomes more and more competitive, customer retention becomes increasingly important as businesses seek to hold on to customers and create evangelists for their brand," he explained.

Providing good service can have a huge impact on the success of companies, a new study has shown.

According to research from the Consumer Forum, over 80 per cent of consumers tell their friends, family and associates about their good and bad customer experiences.

The study also showed consumers are three times as likely to relay bad experiences as good.