Why customer service is not a department – it’s everyone’s job.
By 2020 customer experience will become a key brand differentiator. Microsoft surveyed 4 key global markets for the Global State of Multichannel Customer Service Report, which reveals the channels, habits, frustrations, and preferences of customers around the globe. The results are fascinating!
Customer satisfaction is the key to loyalty
Customer expectations are changing and growing just as rapidly as the technology customers use to engage. On average, 97 percent of global customers say customer service is a key differentiator in their decisions to use—or abandon—a company. In fact, 63% of the British have stopped doing business with a brand due to bad customer service
Quality self-service is a must
To consumers, being able to find a resolution to an issue or an answer to a question online is increasingly important, with 90 percent of worldwide customers expecting it. In fact, 72% of the British have searched for an answer for their issue online and 92% expects a brand or a company to have a self-service customer support portal or a FAQ page. There are still room for improvement with 26% not finding information they are looking for.
Don’t be silent in social
Customer expectations have moved along the times: 51% of the British expect brand to respond in social media within 24 hours and 14% expect them to answer in less than an hour. But social media is not just a place where customers go to vent; in fact, our survey revealed that more UK customers use social to praise brands’ customer service than to complain about it! Instead of dreading conversations on social, see it as an opportunity to turn negative sentiment into positive: 43% of the British have a more positive view of a brand or company who answers them in social.
Hold music plays on
It’s always enlightening to find out just how long customers are willing to wait on hold. Turns out consumers in the United States have the most stamina. 18% of the Americans are prepared to stay on hold for more than 10 minutes, while 56% of the British hang up after 5 minutes.
However, being on hold is not the most frustrating aspect for the British – being passed between agents and having to contact a brand or company multiple times for the same issue results much more annoying on this side of the pond.
In conclusion, wherever business is done, in whichever corner of the world, customers not only deserve a company’s best efforts, they expect it.
Customer service is not a department, it’s everyone’s job.
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