Customer service expectations in the contact center continue to increase, and only the best businesses keep up. Customer service statistics show that superior CX generates more return customers, increases loyalty, and helps generate higher profits.
Here’s a comprehensive list of the most important customer service statistics you need to know in 2023. These stats cover everything from interaction channel preferences to customer expectations, and attitudes towards the current state of customer service to guide your strategy moving forward.
Excellent customer service in the contact center has always been job one. It matters more than ever in an era where your customers will compare the experience they have with your brand against the biggest labels in the world. These stats demonstrate the value of offering excellent customer service.
Customers who receive excellent, effortless customer service are 94% more likely to buy the product or service again.
Source: Gartner
56% of customers say they would pay more for a product if it came with a guarantee of excellent customer service.
Source: ArenaCX
Customers are 5.1 times more likely to recommend your product or service after a positive experience.
Source: Qualtrics
A customer evangelist or promoter has a lifetime value 600 – 1,400% higher than a detractor.
Source: Bain&Co
Across the globe, 96% of consumers say customer service is an important factor in their choice of loyalty to a brand.
Source: Microsoft
As little as a 5% lift in customer retention can produce 25% more profits.
Source: Bain&Co
64% of people find customer experience more important than price when making a purchase.
Source: Gartner
If a company’s customer service is normally excellent, 78% of consumers will do business with them again after a mistake.
Source: Salesforce Research
52% of consumers say they have made an additional purchase from a company after a positive customer service experience.
Source: Dimensional Research
Americans will pay 17% more to do business with firms with great reputations in customer service.
Source: American Express
Companies that excel at customer experience delivery have revenues 4% to 8% higher than the rest of their market.
Source: Bain&Co
68% of customers say they will pay more for products and services from brands known to offer good customer service.
Source: HubSpot
93% of customers say they are more likely to purchase again from companies that provide excellent customer service.
Source: Hubspot
Consumers who rate a company’s service as “good” are 38% more likely to recommend that company.
Source: Qualtrics XM Institute
83% of customers agree that they feel more loyal to brands that respond and resolve their complaints.
Source: Khoros
Reducing your customer defection rate by 5% can increase profits by 25 to 125%.
Source: Leading on the Edge of Chaos, Emmet Murphy and Mark Murphy
62% of organizations view customer experience provided through contact centers as a competitive differentiator.
Source: Deloitte: Contact Center Survey
Increasing customer retention by just 2% has a similar impact as decreasing costs by 10%.
Source: Leading on the Edge of Chaos, Emmet Murphy and Mark Murphy
On average, a 1% improvement in First Call Resolution (F.C.R.) will result in a $276,000 reduction in annual operational costs.
Source: Bluewolf
Companies that prioritize providing a great experience saw a 10-15% increase in revenue and a 20% increase in customer satisfaction.
Source: McKinsey
Customers will spend up to 40% more with a company when satisfied with its customer service.
Source: Bain & Company
86% of customers are happy to pay more for a better experience, but only 1% think that businesses meet their expectations consistently.
Source: Forbes
$62 billion is lost by U.S. businesses each year following bad customer experiences.
Source: New Voice Media
40% of consumers start buying from a competitor because they hear about their reputation for excellent customer service.
Source: Zendesk
Businesses today know that excellent customer service is required. On the other hand, having poor CS can have a measurably negative impact on your business. These statistics demonstrate the high cost of neglecting your customers.
69% of customers report having stopped doing business with a brand because of poor customer service.
Source: ArenaCX
9.5% of your revenue is at risk due to bad customer experiences.
Source: Qualtrics
When customers experience a high-effort customer service interaction, they are 81% more likely to share negative word-of-mouth information about the brand.
Source: Gartner
Acquiring new customers costs between 5 and 25 times more than retaining existing customers.
Source: Harvard Business Review
42% of Americans will stop shopping with a brand after only two bad experiences.
Source: Vision Critical
54% of people shared their bad customer service experiences with more than five people.
Source: Zendesk
33% of customers say they would consider switching brands after just one bad customer service experience.
Source: American Express
The average American tells 15 people when they’ve had a poor customer service experience.
Source: American Express
Men tell the most people (21 people) when they have had a poor customer service experience.
Source: American Express
On average, women tell about ten people when they have had a poor customer service experience.
Source: American Express
91% of customers unhappy with a brand will just leave without complaining.
Source: Kolsky
78% of customers have backed out of buying due to a poor customer experience.
Source: Glance
47% of consumers have switched to a different brand due to bad customer service within the last year.
Source: Microsoft
After a bad customer service experience, 39% of customers will avoid a company for the next two years.
Source: Dimensional Research
It can take up to twelve positive customer experiences to make up for one bad experience.
Source: Business Insider
Only 20% of consumers will forgive a bad experience at a company whose customer service they rate as “very poor.”
Source: Qualtrics XM Institute
Nearly 80% will forgive a bad experience if they rate the service team as “very good.”
Source: Qualtrics XM Institute
Only 1 in 26 customers will tell a business about their negative experience; the other 25 will simply leave without explaining or complaining.
Source: Esteban Kolsky
Feeling unappreciated by a company is the #1 reason customers switch brands.
Source: New Voice Media
Overall, customer service is looking good these days. Thanks to the rise of AI and other emerging technologies, contact centers can provide personalized experiences and resolve issues quickly. Businesses that offer great CX will notice an uptick in customer loyalty.
63% of US customers expect brands to offer customer service on their social media channels.
Source: Microsoft
63% of customers said companies need to get better at listening to their feedback.
Source: Qualtrics
89% of consumers have switched to doing business with a competitor following a poor customer experience.
Source: Harris Interactive
67% of people worldwide believe that customer service is improving as a whole.
Source: Microsoft
81% of Americans report that businesses either meet or exceed their expectations in customer service.
Source: American Express
46% of decision-makers expect their contact centers to grow between 5%-10% over the next year. 14% of contact center leaders predict growth of more than 10%.
Source: Forrester
80% of companies use customer satisfaction scores to analyze customer experience and improve it.
Source: Harvard Business Review
The customer experience management market worldwide is worth as much as $7.6 billion in 2020, up 16.9% from $6.5 billion in 2019.
Source: Grand View Research
53% of shoppers believe their feedback doesn’t go to anyone who can act on it.
Source: Microsoft
More than 89% of companies see customer experience as a key factor in driving customer loyalty and retention.
Source: invesp
Today’s customers expect companies to understand their needs and expectations – and they are becoming less patient with companies that don’t.
65% of people have higher expectations of customer service today than they did five years ago.
Source: Netomi
33% of people consider the most important aspect of good customer service to be having their problem solved in a single interaction, regardless of how long it takes.
Source: Statista
59% of customers believe that companies should offer cutting-edge digital experiences.
Source: Salesforce
Globally, 54% of all consumers say that they have higher customer service expectations than one year ago.
Source: Microsoft
48% of consumers expect specialized treatment for being a good customer.
Source: Accenture
52% of people around the globe believe that companies need to take action on feedback provided by their customers.
Source: Microsoft
72% of consumers say that they expect customer service agents to “know who they are, what they have purchased, and have insights into their previous engagements.”
Source: Microsoft
77% of consumers view a brand more favorably when they proactively ask for and collect customer feedback.
Source: Microsoft
68% of customers believe the key to great customer service is a polite customer service representative.
Source: American Express
Service insight and knowledge are also key to a good experience, according to 62% of consumers.
Source: American Express
67% of customer churn could be prevented if companies resolve problems the first time they happen.
Source: Ameyo
12% of Americans rate their number one frustration with customer service as “lack of speed.”
Source: Statista
A customer is four times more likely to switch to a competitor if the problem they’re having is service-based.
Source: Bain and Company
27% of Americans report “lack of effectiveness” as their number one frustration with customer service.
Source: Statista
72% of consumers see explaining their problem to multiple people as poor customer service.
Source: Dimensional Research
90% of consumers expect an online portal for customer service.
Source: Microsoft
79% of millennials are more inclined to buy from brands with a mobile-responsive customer support portal.
Source: Microsoft
90% of consumers worldwide consider issue resolution their most crucial customer service concern.
Source: KPMG
71% of consumers under the age of 24 think that a fast response from the customer support team can significantly improve their customer experience.
Source: Comm100
80% of customers say a company’s customer experience is just as important as its products or services.
Source: Salesforce
33% of consumers would recommend a brand that provides a quick but ineffective response.
Source: Nielsen-McKinsey
Only 17% of consumers will recommend a brand that provides a slow but effective solution.
Source: Nielsen-McKinsey
72% of customers say that explaining their problems to multiple people is poor customer service.
Source: Dimensional Research
70% of people favor brands that proactively notify customers about service interruptions or potential issues.
Source: Microsoft
82% of customers expect to solve complex problems by talking to one person.
Source: Salesforce
AI-enabled systems and software are having a moment. These computer-driven technologies boost customer service in the contact center, and provide measurable results and significant financial benefits to businesses.
99% of respondents reported an increase in customer satisfaction resulting from using virtual agent technology.
Source: IBM
Speech analytics can increase customer satisfaction by 10% or more.
Source: McKinsey
90% of customers expect an immediate response (in under 10 minutes) when they contact customer service. AI-assisted communications are one of the best ways to get there.
Source: HubSpot
IBM found that virtual assistants led to 15% reduction in call handling time and a 9% and 12% increased customer and agent satisfaction (in two different studies.)
Source: IBM
High-performing service teams are 3.2 times more likely than underperformers to have a defined A.I. strategy.
Source: Salesforce
51% of agents without A.I. say they spend most of their time on mundane tasks, versus 34% of agents with A.I.
Source: Salesforce
More financial services firms have adopted A.I., with 41% using some form of A.I. compared to other sectors. For example, only 13% of education institutions are using A.I.
Source: Salesforce
Only 9% of governments use A.I. chatbots compared to 42% of media and communications companies.
Source: Salesforce
The travel and hospitality industry expects the use of Artificial Intelligence tools in customer interactions to grow 187% over the next two years.
Source: Salesforce
Ameyo estimated that by 2020, 85% of customer service interactions will be automated.
Source: Ameyo
30% of U.S. consumers rate chatbot interactions as “very effective” in dealing with customer support problems.
Source: Microsoft
37% of customers report using a chatbot on a website. Nearly that many again have used a virtual agent or chatbot on their smartphone.
Source: Forrester
More than 50% of customers say the main reason they can’t resolve an issue on their own is there is not enough information available online.
Source: Microsoft
30% of consumers say not reaching a real human is the most frustrating part of a bad customer service experience.
Source: Microsoft
77% of consumers report having used a self-service support portal.
Source: Microsoft
Only 12% of Americans say they cannot find the information they need in self-service portals.
Source: Microsoft
American consumers do not find bots effective, with 40% relying on other channels to reach out to service teams.
Source: Microsoft
75% of consumers will still choose to interact with a real person even as the technology for automated solutions improves.
Source: PwC
69% of high-performing service agents actively look for situations to use Artificial Intelligence compared to only 39% of underperformers.
Source: Salesforce
34% of sales and marketing leaders believe that artificial intelligence will cause the biggest improvement in customer experience.
Source: Oracle
Customers can choose from multiple channels to receive service, including phone, email, chat, social and more. It’s important that contact centers understand which channels people prefer, and provide a seamless experience across all of them.
40% of consumers say they have used three or more channels to communicate with customer service reps.
Source: Airkit
66% of customer service teams use knowledge bases, compared to 82% of customers who use knowledge bases (e.g., online F.A.Q.s).
Source: Salesforce
64% of customer service teams use customer portals, compared to 84% of customers who use customer portals.
Source: Salesforce
63% of customer service teams use text messaging, compared to 78% of customers who use text messaging for communicating with a company.
Source: Salesforce
81% of customers use online chat for communicating with a company, but only 52% of customer service teams use live chat.
Source: Salesforce
63% of online consumers said they were more likely to return to a website that offers live chat.
Source: Forrester
51% of customer service teams use mobile apps, compared to 82% of customers who use mobile apps for communicating with a company.
Source: Salesforce
20% of customer service teams use voice-activated personal assistants, compared to 54% of customers who use voice assistants to communicate with a company.
Source: Salesforce
Millennials prefer live chat for customer service over every other communication channel.
Source: Comm100
57% of customers would rather contact companies via digital media such as email or social media than voice-based customer support.
Source: Ameyo
40% of customers prefer talking to a real person over the phone for more complicated interactions, such as payment disputes.
Source: American Express
52% say Facebook is the most effective social channel for customer service. Twitter follows at 25%, then LinkedIn at 8%.
Source: Salesforce
23% of consumers look for face-to-face interaction when they have a complicated customer service issue like troubleshooting.
Source: American Express
75% of customers want a consistent experience, regardless of the channel they use to communicate with a company.
Source: Salesforce
76% of all consumers prefer phone calls to reach customer support representatives.
Source: CFI Group
More than 50% of customers use the phone to contact customer support, making it the most-used channel for customer service.
Source: Zendesk
63% of customer service teams use text messaging, compared to 78% of customers who use text messaging for communicating with a company.
Source: Salesforce
72% of consumers have a more favorable view of a company if they provide a customer service app.
Source: Nuance
69% of American adults online say that they shop more with businesses whose online and offline customer service is consistent.
Source: Forrester
87% of consumers say brands need to be doing more to provide a seamless experience for their customers.
Source: Zendesk
Personalization in customer service is increasingly important as customers demand tailored experiences that meet their specific needs and preferences. In 2023, businesses that can leverage technology to personalize interactions and anticipate customer’s preferences will have a competitive edge.
80% of business leaders say customers spend more when they get a personalized experience.
Source: Segment
63% of consumers expect businesses to know their unique needs and expectations
Source: Salesforce Research
Your online conversion rate can improve by roughly 8% when you include personalized consumer experiences.
Source: Trust Pilot
79% of customers are willing to share relevant information about themselves in exchange for personalized interactions where they are immediately identified and understood.
Source: Salesforce
Short wait times have become a crucial factor in providing excellent customer service and today’s customers expect immediate responses from brands they interact with.
80% of customers say they want quicker responses from companies.
Source: Shopify
47% of adults say they will abandon their online purchase if they can’t find a quick answer to their question.
Source: Freshworks
64% of customers expect to receive real-time support, regardless of which channel they use.
Source: Zendesk
90% of consumers regard immediate responses as important when they have a query.
Source: Hubspot
Nearly 70% of customers are irritated when their call is transferred between agents or departments.
Source: Zendesk
21% of people waiting at a hospital pharmacy decided to fill their prescriptions elsewhere because they had to wait too long.
Source: Sage Journals
33% of customers are most frustrated by having to wait on hold.
Source: HubSpot Research
33% of customers are most frustrated by repeating themselves to multiple support reps.
Source: HubSpot Research
Nearly 60% of customers feel that long holds and wait times are the most frustrating parts of a service experience.
Source: Zendesk
90% of customers rate an “immediate” response as important or very important when they have a customer service question. 60% of customers define “immediate” as 10 minutes or less.
Source: HubSpot
12% of Americans rate their number one service frustration as “lack of speed.”
Source: Statista
66% of U.S. adults said the most important thing a company can do to provide a good customer experience is to value their time.
Source: Forrester
71% of consumers under 25 believe quick responses from customer service representatives improve their experience.
Source: Comm100
73% of customers say that time is critical in determining a good customer service experience from a poor one.
Source: Hubspot
Proactive customer service messaging can result in a 20-30% reduction in call center calls. That can lower contact center costs by as much as 25%.
Source: Enkata/MyCustomer
75% of online customers expect help within five minutes.
Source: McKinsey
33% of customers said they’re not willing to wait on hold at all. 27.6% said they would wait 1 minute, and only 4.1% said they’d wait as long it took.
Source: Plum Voice
Customer expectations for chat response times are high, and are willing to wait just 45 seconds to speak to an agent.
Source: Com100
In an age where data breaches and cyber-attacks are becoming increasingly common, customers are more cautious about sharing their personal information. Ensuring the security and privacy of customer data is crucial for building trust and maintaining a loyal customer base in the contact center industry.
Two-thirds of global consumers feel that tech companies have too much control over their data.
Source: YouGov
80% of companies store sensitive data in the cloud.
Source: Netwrix
92% of customers appreciate companies giving them control over what information is collected about them.
Source: Salesforce
90% of people are more likely to trust a company if they have a firm privacy policy.
Source: Salesforce
56% of customers don’t have a problem sharing their personal information in exchange for better customer service.
Source: Salesforce
Customer service agents only ask for a customer’s name 21% of the time.
Source: Glance
Providing excellent customer service on social media helps businesses maintain a positive brand image and reputation. Customers expect it and take note when it isn’t available. Providing great CX on social can also turn dissatisfied customers into loyal ones, and improve retention rates.
48% of consumers expect a response to social media questions and complaints within 24 hours.
Source: Statista
33% of consumers in the United States do not expect an answer when asking a question of a company’s social media.
Source: Statista
33% of people aged 18-34 have contacted a company’s customer service via social media.
Source: Microsoft
55% of people age 18-34 have praised a brand or its customer service over social media.
Source: Microsoft
Both in the United States and worldwide, 18% of customers expect a response from a company’s social media within one hour.
Source: Statista
65% of people aged 18-34 believe social media is an effective channel for customer service, while 75% of people aged 55 and over do not.
Source: Microsoft
One-third of Americans have used social media to complain about a brand or its customer service.
Source: Microsoft
It’s estimated that companies only acknowledge around 45% of customer service requests over social media.
Source: Kolsky
33% of customers have contacted a company using Facebook and similar social channels.
Source: Forrester
23% of businesses use social media as a tool to collect and analyze data.
Source: Gartner
Employee satisfaction and engagement are critically important to a contact center’s ability to deliver great customer service. Happy agents equal happy customers.
73% of contact center leaders report that agent turnover is one of the most significant customer service problems in their contact center.
Source: Cisco
The customer service industry has the highest employee turnover rate of all businesses. Call center statistics have placed it as high as 45%!
Source: QATC
The Human Resource Institute estimates that turnover costs about $10k-$15k for a frontline employee.
Source: QATC
31% of consumers consider a knowledgeable agent the most crucial factor for a positive customer experience.
Source: Thomasnet
83% of high-performing service agents say they get the training they need to do their job well compared to only 52% of underperformers.
Source: Salesforce
73% of customers fall in love with a brand because of friendly customer service representatives.
Source: RightNow
Engaged, knowledgeable employees deliver a better customer experience and close 33% more deals.
Source: Bluewolf
Only 31% of businesses reward employees for improving the customer experience.
Source: Forrester Research
65% of organizations that focus on frequent training see advantages in First Call Resolution.
Source: Aberdeen Group
Companies that excel at customer experience have 1.5x more engaged employees than companies with poor customer experience.
Source: Customer Contact Mind Xchange
Here we’ve collated over 100 customer service statistics, customer satisfaction statistics and quotes from various brands, industry leaders and researchers which reflect the fast-changing landscape.
Customer experience and delivering high levels of customer satisfaction is now the top priority for all forward-thinking businesses.
Customers are no longer basing their loyalty on brands, products and prices. Their loyalty is far more dependent upon the service they receive, their experience of a business and their level of satisfaction.
Read all the stats and quotes below, or download our bumper customer service statistics infographic by clicking the image:
Here are some interesting customer service, satisfaction and experience stats which demonstrate how times are changing.
54% of customers have higher expectations for customer service today compared to one year ago.
This percentage jumps to 66% for consumers aged from 18 to 34 years old.
Microsoft
Gartner predicts that 89% of businesses are expected to compete mainly on customer experience.
Gartner
Gartner have also predicted that by 2019 more than 50% of organizations will redirect their investments to customer experience innovations.
Gartner
Worldwide, 67% of people believe that customer service as a whole is improving.
Microsoft
In 2017, 64% of Americans contacted some form of customer service.
Statista
52% of people around the globe believe that companies need to take action on feedback provided by their customers.
Microsoft
Around the globe, 96% of consumers say customer service is an important factor in their choice of loyalty to a brand.
Microsoft
When asking consumers what impacts their level of trust with a company, offering excellent customer service is ranked number one.
Zendesk
A customer experience promoter has a lifetime value to a company that’s 600 to 1,400% that of a detractor.
Bain
34% of companies are implementing “customer journey mapping” into their customer service.
Salesforce
70% of consumers say they have already made a choice to support a company that delivers great customer service.
American Express
Service insight and knowledge is also key to a good experience according to 62% of consumers.
American Express
Americans will pay 17% more to do business with firms with great reputations when it comes to customer service.
American Express
52% of consumers say they have made an additional purchase from a company after a positive customer service experience.
Zendesk
90% of customers are influenced by positive reviews when buying a product.
Zendesk
More people read positive reviews of customer service online than negative ones by 6%.
Zendesk
Gartner predicts that by 2019, more than 50% of organizations will redirect their investments to customer experience innovations.
Gartner
With 89% of businesses soon to be expected to compete mainly on customer experience, organizations that take customer experience seriously will stand out from the noise and win loyal customers.
Gartner
99% of Customer Experience and Success leaders believe Customer Experience Management has a positive impact on their business.
Lumoa
In 2019, customer experience will continue as a major factor in how companies do business.
Forrester
87% of organizations agree traditional experiences no longer satisfy customers.
Accenture.
A moderate improvement in CX would impact the revenue of a typical $1 billion company an average of $775 million over three years.
Temkin Group
67% of consumers and 74% of business buyers say they’ll pay more for a great experience.
Salesforce
By 2020, more than 40% of all data analytics projects will relate to an aspect of customer experience.
Gartner
65% of companies measure NPS compared with 44% that measure CSAT and 14% that measure CES.
Lumoa
Organizations that lead in CX outperformed laggards on the S&P 500 index by nearly 80%.
(Watermark Consulting, 2018)
Qualtrics
84% of organizations working to improve CX report an increase in revenue.
Dimension Data
Benchmark Net Promoter Score for companies in the education sector was reported as 69 in April 2018.
NPSBenchmarks
Benchmark Net Promoter Score for financial services companies was indicated to be 49 in January 2019.
NPSBenchmarks
Benchmark Net Promoter Score for the healthcare sector was indicated at 76 in January 2019.
NPSBenchmarks
Benchmark Net Promoter Score for manufacturing companies was recorded at 76 in January 2019.
NPSBenchmarks
Benchmark Net Promoter Score for technology companies was reported to be 60 in January 2019.
NPSBenchmarks
Customer retention is a high priority for most businesses since it costs so much more to win new customers. Poor customer service is one of the key factors contributing to customer churn. Here are some interesting, relevant stats that will will help you to hang on to your valuable customers.
Attracting a new customer is 6-7 times more expensive than retaining a current one.
Salesforce
Increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95%.
Harvard Business School
Customers who had a very good experience are 3.5x more likely to repurchase and 5x more likely to recommend the company to friends and relatives than if they had a very poor experience.
Temkin
Loyal customers are seven times as likely to test an offering, five times as likely to buy again and four times as likely to refer.
Temkin
95% of customers tell others about a bad experience and 87% share good experiences.
Zendesk
67% of customer churn is preventable if firms resolve issues the first time they occur.
Ameyo
The average American tells 15 people when they’ve had a poor customer service experience.
American Express
Men tell the most people (21 people) when they have had a poor customer service experience.
American Express
On average women tell about 10 people when they have had a poor customer service experience.
American Express
33% of customers who abandoned a business relationship last year did so because personalization was lacking.
Accenture
68% of customers believe the key to great customer service is a polite customer service representative.
American Express
48% of consumers expect specialized treatment for being a good customer.
Accenture
89% of consumers have switched to doing business with a competitor following a poor customer experience.
Harris Interactive
According to Esteban Kolsky, if a customer is not satisfied, 13% of them will tell to 15 or even more people that they are unhappy. On the other hand, 72% of customers will share a positive experience with 6 or more people.
Kolsky
67% of customers mention bad experiences as a reason for churn, but only 1 out of 26 unhappy customers complain.
Salesforce
63% CX professionals use customer feedback to prioritize investment in better products, services and customer experiences.
Oracle
One-third of consumers say they would consider switching companies after just one instance of bad customer service.
American Express
The majority of Americans have decided to not go through with a purchase because of a poor customer service experience.
American Express
79% of consumers who shared complaints about poor customer experience online had their complaints ignored.
Harris Interactive
12% of Americans rate their number one frustration with customer service as “lack of speed.”
Statista
27% of Americans report “lack of effectiveness” as their number one frustration with customer service.
Statista
56% of people around the world have stopped doing business with a company because of a poor customer service experience.
Microsoft
47% of consumers have made the choice to switch to a different brand due to bad customer service within the last year.
Microsoft
After a bad customer service experience, 39% of customers will avoid a company for two years.
Zendesk
91% of customers who are unhappy with a brand will just leave without complaining.
Salesforce
Millenials, people born between 1980 and 2000, are very much influencing the way in in which customer service, support and experience is evolving in the digital age. Their behaviour and expectations are not influenced by the pre-digital age. These people are digital natives who have become the largest consumer demographic. Anybody involved in customer service and experience needs to pay special attention to the stats that apply to this demographic. Here are some interesting numbers.
Millennials will pay 21% more to do business with companies who excel at customer service.
American Express
Millennials are the only demographic of Americans who tell more people when they have a good customer service experience rather than a bad one.
American Express
63% of millenials begin their customer service interactions online.
Microsoft
One in two millennials has complained about a brand on social media.
Microsoft
86% of millennials say they are influenced by negative reviews when purchasing a product or service.
Zendesk
74% of millennials report that their perception of a brand improves when it is clear the company responds to customers’ social media inquiries.
Microsoft
31% of customers report reaching out to a company via Twitter.
Forrester
66% of 18-34-year-olds say their customer service expectations have risen in the last year.
Microsoft
More than 65% of customers aged 18-44 use mobile to seek for service more than once a month.
SoftwareAdvice
65% of people aged 18-34 believe social media is an effective channel for customer service, while 75% of people aged 55 and over do not.
Microsoft
Not so long ago there were basically just two key ways to contact a business or organisation: by telephone or by fax. Today we can use email, many social media platforms, websites, live chat, SMS, mobile and landline telephones. Businesses need to deliver consistent and integrative customer service across all channels. According to the Aberdeen group businesses that provide consistent customer service quality across multiple channels will retain 89% of their customers whereas companies which do not provide consistent omni-channel customer service are only able to retain around 33% of their customers.
About one in three people (30%) say the most important aspect of customer service is speaking with a knowledgeable and friendly agent.
Microsoft
57% of customers would rather contact companies via digital media such as email or social media rather than use voice-based customer support.
Ameyo
Friendly employees or customer service representatives are what make a memorable experience that causes consumers to stick with a brand, for 73% of customers.
Harris Interactive
For more complicated interactions, such as payment disputes, 40% of customers prefer talking to a real person over the phone.
American Express
23% of consumers seek out a face to face interaction for complicated customer service issues like troubleshooting.
American Express
88% of consumers are influenced by online customer service reviews when making a buying decision.
Zendesk
Nearly 1/3 of customers report sending a mobile/SMS message to the company requesting assistance.
Forrester
68% of consumers say it increases their perception of a brand when companies send them proactive customer service notifications.
Microsoft
90% of consumers expect an online portal for customer service.
Microsoft
Globally, only 5% of customer service interactions begin with a face to face meeting.
Microsoft
54% of customers used email customer service channels making it the most commonly used digital customer service channel.
Forrester
9 in 10 consumers want absolute omnichannel service – they expect a seamless experience when moving from one communication method to another, such as phone to text or chat to phone.
NICE inContact
84% of companies, who claim themselves to be customer-centric focus on the mobile customer experience.
Visioncritical
By 2019, mobile search will generate 27.8 billion more queries than desktop search.
Mobile marketer
90% of customers say they have had poor experience seeking customer support on mobile.
Software Advice
75% of people complete surveys on their mobile.
IMImobile
48% of consumers expect a response to social media questions and complaints within 24 hours.
Statista
Both in the United States and world wide, 18% of customers expect a response from a company’s social media within one hour.
Statista
One-third of Americans have used social media to complain about a brand or its customer service.
Microsoft
Supporting the demands of today’s customers with intelligent self-service and automated customer contact systems is increasingly being recognised as beneficial. Customers want businesses to make it easy for them to solve their customer service issues for themselves, without the need to interact with a service agent. Here are some recent, interesting stats regarding self-service and automation.
A report by Aspect Software indicates 73% of customers want to solve product or service issues on their own
Aspect Software
According to a Radial and CFI Group survey, 55% of customers are likely to use Visual IVR when given the option.
Zappix
50% of customers think it’s important to solve product or service issues themselves
Zendesk
70% of customers expect a company’s website to include a self-service application.
Steven Van Belleghem
63% of customers are happy to be served by a chatbot, if there is an option to escalate the conversation to a human.
Forrester
It’s estimated that by 2020, 85% of customer service interactions will be automated.
Ameyo
Over 60% of US consumers prefer an automated self-service, such as a website or mobile app, for simple customer service tasks.
American Express
30% of US consumers rate chatbot interactions as “very effective” in dealing with customer service issues.
Microsoft
77% of consumers report having used a self-service support portal.
Microsoft
Over half of consumers say that the main reason they cannot resolve an issue on their own is because there is too little information online.
Microsoft
Only 12% of Americans say they cannot find the information they need in self-service portals.
Microsoft
By 2021, 15% of all customer service interactions will be completely handled by AI, an increase of 400% from 2017.
Gartner
8% of CX professionals said that although their companies embrace digital, they don’t think they’ll keep pace with the speed of technology change.
Oracle
31% of organizations have already invested in technology like AI to outpace the competition.
Accenture
76% of collaboration leaders are investing or expanding their emerging technology investment.
Accenture
26% of companies leading financially use CX technologies, compared to 7% of laggards.
Bain
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