100 Essential Customer Service Statistics and Trends for 2020
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It's not only product and price that companies must compete on, but customer service and relationship as well.
Today’s marketplaces are incredibly customer driven. Mass customization and a plethora of choices within almost every industry means companies must fight for customers’ business. It’s not only product and price that companies must compete on, but customer service as well.
We all know that customer service is a vital cog in the business machine, but how vital is it? A few decades ago customer service departments were nearly non-existent, now they are a large part of any successful business.
With recent advantages in digital and communication technologies, such as customer service CRM, customer service has been changing quickly. Social media interactions between customers and businesses are driving engagement to new levels. Attitudes and expectations are changing, driven by millennials who are placing higher demands on customer service.
So how can customer service departments and firms capitalize on new technologies while navigating a complex customer-centric marketplace? A well-informed customer service department can make a huge difference.
In today's hyper-competitive business atmosphere, it’s important to know the consequences of a poor customer service interaction and the benefits of a friendly and efficient CS department. Here are 100 stats that can help your company achieve a higher level of customer service satisfaction.
Section 01
State of the Industry
Section 02
Brand Building and Brand Loyalty
Section 03
Reaping the Rewards of Good Customer Service
Section 04
Poor Customer Service Loses Out
Section 05
Millenials Drive Demand
Section 06
How Customers Communicate
Section 07
Social Media and Customer Service
Section 08
The Rise of Automation and Self Service
Section 09
Ask The Experts
Section 01
State of the Industry
81% of Americans report that businesses are either meeting or exceeding expectations when it comes to customer service.
40% of Americans believe that businesses have better focused their attention on customer service recently.
Globally, 54% of all consumers say that they have higher customer service expectations than they did just one year ago.
In 2017, 64% of Americans contacted some form of customer service.
Worldwide, 67% of people believe that customer service as a whole is improving.
52% of people around the globe believe that companies need to take action on feedback provided by their customers.
75% of brands report that they are measuring customer engagement, but cannot define what it is.
46% of global contact center decision makers project their contact centers to grow 5%-10% in the next year, and 14% project growth of more than 10%.
A customer experience promoter has a lifetime value to a company that’s 600 to 1,400% that of a detractor.
Section 02
Brand Building and Brand Loyalty
67% of customers worldwide say that customer engagement levels have improved in the last 2 years.
Across the globe, 96% of consumers say customer service is an important factor in their choice of loyalty to a brand.
33% of customers who abandoned a business relationship last year did so because personalization was lacking.
When asking consumers what impacts their level of trust with a company, offering excellent customer service ranked number one.
48% of consumers expect specialized treatment for being a good customer.
34% of companies are implementing “customer journey mapping” into their customer service.
72% of consumers say that when contacting customer service they expect the agent to “know who they are, what they have purchased and have insights into their previous engagements.”
Brands are viewed more favorably by 77% of consumers if they proactively invite and accept customer feedback.
Two-thirds of customers are willing to share personal information with companies–but only in exchange for some perceived value.
89% of consumers have switched to doing business with a competitor following a poor customer experience.
Harris Interactive
Section 03
Reaping the Rewards of Good Customer Service
70% of consumers say they have already made a choice to support a company that delivers great customer service.
68% of customers believe the key to great customer service is a polite customer service representative.
Service insight and knowledge is also key to a good experience according to 62% of consumers.
Americans will pay 17% more to do business with firms with great reputations when it comes to customer service.
52% of consumers say they have made an additional purchase from a company after a positive customer service experience.
Attracting a new customer is 6-7 times more expensive than retaining a current one.
About one in three people (30%) say the most important aspect of customer service is speaking with a knowledgeable and friendly agent.
More people read positive reviews of customer service online than negative ones by 6%.
A 5% increase in customer retention can produce 25% more profit.
Globally, companies respond to customer service questions 85% of the time.
90% of customers are influenced by positive reviews when buying a product.
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
Companies that excel at the customer experience drive revenues 4% to 8% higher than those of their market.
Increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95%.
Section 04
Poor Customer Service Loses Out
One-third of consumers say they would consider switching companies after just one instance of bad customer service.
The majority of Americans have decided to not go through with a purchase because of a poor customer service experience.
67% of customer churn is preventable if firms resolve issues the first time they occur.
The average American tells 15 people when they’ve had a poor customer service experience.
Men tell the most people (21 people) when they have had a poor customer service experience.
On average women tell about 10 people when they have had a poor customer service experience.
27% of Americans report “lack of effectiveness” as their number one frustration with customer service.
12% of Americans rate their number one frustration with customer service as “lack of speed.”
79% of consumers who shared complaints about poor customer experience online had their complaints ignored.
Harris Interactive
91% of customers who are unhappy with a brand will just leave without complaining.
56% of people around the world have stopped doing business with a company because of a poor customer service experience.
47% of consumers have made the choice to switch to a different brand due to bad customer service within the last year.
72% of consumers see having to explain their problem to multiple people as poor customer service.
After a bad customer service experience, 39% of customers will avoid a company for two years.
Four out of ten consumers will recommend others not frequent a business if they have had poor customer service from them.
44% of consumers say they have received the wrong answer from a customer service representative in the past.
Even though fewer customers may be experiencing problems, more customers are inclined to complain about customer service problems than ever before.
Section 05
Millennials Drive Demand
84% of millennials say that businesses are meeting or exceeding their service expectations.
Millennials will pay 21% more to do business with companies who excel at customer service.
Millennials are the only demographic of Americans who tell more people when they have a good customer service experience rather than a bad one.
63% of millenials begin their customer service interactions online.
74% of millennials report that their perception of a brand improves when it is clear the company responds to customers' social media inquiries.
One in two millennials has complained about a brand on social media.
Millennials use their mobile devices to contact customer service at a rate of 43%.
31% of customers report reaching out to a company via Twitter.
66% of 18-34-year-olds say their customer service expectations have risen in the last year.
Section 06
How Customers Communicate
It’s estimated that 45% of customer service requests over social media are acknowledged by the company.
67% of customer service interactions can be handled by a dedicated community of core customers.
29% of global companies prefer smartphones and mobile devices to traditional computers due to mobility.
57% of customers would rather contact companies via digital media such as email or social media rather than use voice-based customer support.
For more complicated interactions, such as payment disputes, 40% of customers prefer talking to a real person over the phone.
23% of consumers seek out a face to face interaction for complicated customer service issues like troubleshooting.
88% of consumers are influenced by online customer service reviews when making a buying decision.
86% of millennials say they are influenced by negative reviews when purchasing a product or service.
33% of customers have contacted a company using Facebook and similar social channels.
Nearly 1/3 of customers report sending a mobile/SMS message to the company requesting assistance.
68% of consumers say it increases their perception of a brand when companies send them proactive customer service notifications.
79% of millennials are more inclined to buy from brands that have a mobile-responsive customer support portal.
90% of consumers expect an online portal for customer service.
Out of all customer service engagements around the world in 2017, 52% began online.
66% of consumers have used at least 3 different communication channels to contact customer service.
One-third of all customers use their mobile device to initiate contact with customer service.
Globally, only 5% of customer service interactions begin with a face to face meeting.
74% of Americans have used the landline to contact customer service.
Over 50% of companies report their most critical customer experience issue as being “providing a seamless experience across multiple channels.”
Incite Group
Section 08
The Rise of Automation and Self Service
It’s estimated that by 2020, 85% of customer service interactions will be automated.
Over 60% of US consumers prefer an automated self-service, such as a website or mobile app, for simple customer service tasks.
30% of US consumers rate chatbot interactions as “very effective” in dealing with customer service issues.
37% of customers report using an online virtual agent or chatbot from a website, and nearly that many have used a virtual agent or chatbot on a smartphone.
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.
30% of consumers say not being able to reach a real human is the most frustrating part of a bad customer service experience.
77% of consumers report having used a self-service support portal.
Only 12% of Americans say they cannot find the information they need in self-service portals.
Section 09
Ask the Experts
“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” — Bill Gates
“Customer service should not be a department. It should be the entire company.” — Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos
“Customers do not care how much you know unless they know how much you care.” — Damon Richards, Customer Service Expert.
“You’ll never have a product or price advantage again. They can be easily duplicated, but a strong customer service culture can’t be copied.” — Jerry Fritz, Author of Breakthrough Customer Service.
“Loyal customers, they don’t just come back, they don’t simply recommend you, they insist that their friends do business with you.” — Chip Bell, Author of Take Their Breath Away: How Imaginative Service Creates Devoted Customers.
Despite all the growth and change in the customer service realm, the golden rule still reigns supreme.
The customer is always right, even when they are wrong.
Most research shows it's just as important to treat the customer with respect and courtesy as it is to fix the problem. It’s likely the industry will always need to have friendly staff available to add that human touch.
On the other side of the coin, amazing technologies are emerging that are changing the dynamics of customer service. These technologies, such as social media for customer service, self-service portals and customer journey mapping will help firms deliver the best experience possible. Finding the balance between efficiency and politeness may be the key to customer retention.
Section 07
Social Media and Customer Service
48% of consumers expect a response to social media questions and complaints within 24 hours.
statista
33% of consumers in the United States do not expect a response when asking a question of a company’s social media.
statista
35% of U.S. consumers report reaching out to a business over social media at some point in 2017.
AE
55% of people age 18-34 have praised a brand or its customer service over social media.
Microsoft
33% of people aged 18-34 have contacted a company’s customer service via social media.
Microsoft
Both in the United States and world wide, 18% of customers expect a response from a company’s social media within one hour.
statista
Of the Americans who have sent customer service requests over social media, 84% report receiving a response from the company.
Microsoft
One-third of Americans have used social media to complain about a brand or its customer service.
Microsoft
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