The paradox of the smartphone generation is that while new products and services rapidly hit the market, precious brand loyalty continues to dwindle.
Consumers have more choice than ever about which bank or energy company they use, where they buy things, or how they get home from a night out. The competition for consumer attention (and money) continues to shift power from institutions to individuals.
It follows that loyalty is increasingly something that can only be earned through excellent customer service on any platform at any time. Here are 14 facts and statistics that outline why customer service is a pressing business need.
Consumers are increasingly digitally minded
1. Having a smartphone strategy has long been a must for companies facing customers. The management consulting firm McKinsey, surveyed consumers across a wide range of verticals. In telecommunications, for example, they found that 90% of customer service journeys began digitally and that 76% of telecommunications customers were satisfied with a fully digital service journey, compared to 57% satisfied with interactions through traditional channels like call centers.
24/7 customer service
2. A recent consumer study conducted by West UC found that 70% of respondents want more convenient customer service options to support 24/7 lifestyles, while 74% agree that it's frustrating when customer service is only available during business hours. Another 47% would like to see more customer service options tailored to smartphones.
3. The same UC West study found that consumers' expectations regarding company responsiveness were high. Most wanted most inquiries to be handled instantly, giving voice calls the least advantage.
4. BI Intelligence reports that customer service interactions via legacy methods have declined by 71% in the U.S. over the past 2 years, as consumers abandon traditional customer service channels like voice and email for automated alternatives like messaging.
5. BI Intelligence reports that customer service interactions via legacy methods have declined in the U.S. by 71% over the past 2 years, as consumers abandon traditional customer service channels like voice and email for automated alternatives like messaging.
The impact of poor customer service
6. Accenture estimates that the cost of customers switching due to poor customer service is $ 1.6 trillion.
7. The Digital Disconnect In Customer Engagement report goes further. It found that 52% of customers switched services over the past year due to poor customer service, with banks, retailers, and cable and satellite TV providers the worst offenders.
8. Nearly half of respondents in the same Digital Disconnect study (45%) said they would be willing to pay a higher price for products if it guaranteed a better level of service.
9. A consumer-business survey by video calling provider Sinch found that the 23% of respondents would switch to a bank that provided video calling as a customer service point of contact.
Businesses are responding
10. The use of A2P SMS continues to grow. In a recent report by analyst Ovum, A2P SMS messages were projected to rise to 1.28 tons, up from 1.16 tons in 2016.
11. The same Ovum report indicated that the use of SMS as a customer communication channel continues to grow and that actionable SMS is becoming increasingly important for businesses, with 231 TP3T of respondents saying their use of two-way SMS has increased over the past 12 months. Chatbots have rapidly become part of the customer service mix, with most chat apps providing businesses with access to their chatbot platforms to enable fully or partially automated interactions with customers. However, chatbots are not limited to apps; in fact, most two-way SMS services are also powered by chatbots, such as SMS-based services that allow a bank customer to select a transaction or retrieve their account balance.
12. Organizations that have already launched chatbots have seen up to a 70% reduction in call, chat, and email requests. They also report increased customer satisfaction and a 33% savings per voice engagement, according to Gartner.
13. According to Gartner, 25% of customer service and support operations will integrate a chatbot by 2020, up from less than 2% in 2017. This is as businesses realize the benefits of automated self-service, combined with the ability to escalate to a human agent in complex situations.
14. However, trust is a key factor for consumers when it comes to chatbots and voice assistants. A recent study by the Institute of Customer Service found that most people believed companies should be completely transparent about whether and when they aren't dealing with real people.
Check out our latest A2P Messaging e-book - The Business of Communication for more insights into how SMS is shaking customer engagement.
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