16 Statistics Shaping the Future of Customer Service

Customer expectations are changing and growing just as rapidly as the channels and technology they use. Consumers are empowered to engage, encouraging (if not demanding) that brands and organizations embrace a strategy of non-stop, customer-centric adaptation.

Here is a collection of 16 statistics shaping customer service for today and tomorrow:

  1. 76% of consumers say they view customer service as the true test of how much a company values them. (2015 Aspect Consumer Experience Survey)
  2. 60% of consumers have higher expectations for customer service now than they did just one year ago. (2015 Global State of Multichannel Customer Service Report)

  3. 47% of consumers say that a fast response to an inquiry or complaint is the key element to an idea customer experience. (Economist Intelligence Unit Creating a Seamless Customer Experience Report)
  4. 62% of global consumers have stopped doing business with a brand or organization due to a poor customer service experience. (2015 Global State of Multichannel Customer Service Report)
  5. 63% of executives say silos within the organization and a lack of integrated information systems are the two biggest obstacles standing in the way of improving the customer experience. (Economist Intelligence Unit Creating a Seamless Customer Experience Report)
  6. 45% of consumers say a lack of interest in customer satisfaction is the biggest obstacle preventing companies from providing the ideal customer experience. Only 14% of consumers believe it’s inadequate technology. (Economist Intelligence Unit Creating a Seamless Customer Experience Report)
  7. Only 10% of contact center professionals surveyed for the 2015 Call Center IQ Executive Report on the Omnichannel Contact Center identify their contact centers as omnichannel capable (compared to 68% multichannel and 22% neither) – 25% said achieving omnichannel capabilities will be a priority in 2016.
  8. In Forrester Research’s North American Consumer Technographics Customer Life Cycle Survey, consumers now say they are using web self-service more than assisted service. According to the survey, web self-service use has increased from 67% in 2012 to 84% in 2015.
  9. In relation, 90% of consumers now expect a brand or organization to offer a self-service customer support portal, and 60% of consumers have a more favorable view of the brand if their self-service offering is mobile-responsive. (2015 Global State of Multichannel Customer Service Report)
  10. In the Dimension Data Global Contact Centre Benchmarking Report, 75% of companies view customer service as a competitive differentiator (up 18% in two years).
  11. Yet 80% of customer service professionals participating in the same report as above say their current customer service systems won’t meet future needs.
  12. By 2018, 50% of agent interactions will be influenced by real-time analytics. (Gartner Predicts 2015: Weak Mobile Customer Service Is Harming Customer Engagement)
  13. 53% of customer service professionals say analytics will reshape the customer service industry most in the next five years. (Dimension Data Global Contact Centre Benchmarking Report)
  14. By 2018, the rapid creation and retrieval of relevant content (KM) will be a key attribute of leading enterprises. (Gartner Research, Knowledge Management will Transform CRM Customer Service)
  15. By year-end 2018, 25% of customer service and support operations will integrate virtual customer assistant (VCA) technology across all engagement channels. (Gartner Predicts 2016: CRM Customer Service and Support)
  16. By 2018, six billion connected things (as part of the Internet of Things) will request support. (Gartner Predicts 2016: CRM Customer Service and Support)

Is your organization ready for the future of customer service?

———————

Knowledge You Need: 2016 Knowledge Management
for Customer Service Survey & Report Reveal

Join analyst Esteban Kolsky and Microsoft general manager Bill Patterson for a complimentary webinar at 2pm Eastern/11am Pacific on February 23, 2016 to explore key findings from a new survey on knowledge management for customer service. According to the new report:

  • 73% view knowledge management as key to improved results in service and engagement
  • yet more than one-third of respondents (35%) are currently working from multiple knowledge repositories and
  • 27% don’t have a formal knowledge system in place at all within their department or organization.

Watch Microsoft’s complimentary webinar at 2pm Eastern/11am Pacific on February 23, 2016 to get the very first look at results from this new report. Analyst Esteban Kolsky and Microsoft General Manager Bill Patterson will discuss what they feel are the most interesting findings, as well as where leaders in knowledge management for customer service are finding success. Registrants will receive a complimentary copy of the 2016 report. Click on the link below to register:

knowledge-customer-service-webinar