Providers of communications and high-tech products and services give away, on average, 28% of the technical service and support they deliver to business customers each year, because they lack insight into what customers are entitled to receive.

Accenture research explored the state of business customer service in the communications services, communications equipment, electronics and high-tech industries, querying more than 650 senior executives from 11 countries.

“While there are some legitimate reasons why providers might give away technical service—especially to their biggest, most important customers—lacking enough customer insight about what customers are entitled to receive is not a good enough reason to give it away at no charge,” says Brian Sprague, a senior executive in Accenture’s Customer Service and Support practice.

“Providers must obtain the customer insight needed to make more informed decisions about whether to give away the service and, if so, to whom, or if they should charge for these services. In today’s challenging economic climate, businesses need to find innovative ways to grow and improve their revenues.”

The research uncovered another sizable problem. Nearly 30% of business customers surveyed are considering switching to another provider because they are dissatisfied with the quality of customer service they receive.