You'd think that over time, we'd start getting better at the things we do. Apparently, that's not the case for customer experience.
A new study from Boldchat by LogMeIn and Ovum has revealed that despite investments in new engagement channels, customer experience has taken a downward turn over the last two years.
To make matters worse, the survey found that 90 percent of consumers in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) reported that they will stop doing business with a company following a bad experience, which far outweighs their USA and European counterparts at 82 and 76 percent respectively.
According to Ken Landoline, Ovum principal analyst of customer engagement, the worrying statistics come down to the disconnect between contact centre managers and customers. It's hard to argue with that logic when the report shows that consumers believe it takes six different interactions to resolve an issue while contact centre managers believe it only takes one-two touchpoints.
"The disparity between the perception of contact centres and the reality of consumers when it comes to customer experience is worrisome as every interaction is proving to be critical to customer retention," says Landoline. "Because customers will stopdoing business with a company following a bad experience, it is critical that brands identify friction points in the customer journey and offer their reps the tools and technology to help improve the overall customer experience from pre-purchase through post-purchase support.
While 67 percent of participating consumers in ANZ affirm that phone calls provide the most success for resolution, a whopping 77 percent would choose an alternative channel to voice if they knew they could resolve their issue on the first attempt. This links to the top priorities for ANZ customers, which include improving access to web support channels like social media, communities and live chat (52 percent) and for organisations to offer faster response times (51 percent).
The report also provided insights on how consumers prefer to engage with businesses:
- The use of live chat has increased from 35 percent in 2014 to 43 percent today, ranking as the third most popular to resolve an issue and the fastest way to get a response.
- At 56 percent, more consumers now call from their smartphone than a landline. What's more, 83 percent use mobile applications for customer support and 67 percent use mobile websites – up from 65 and 62 percent respectively since 2014.
- 31 percent of consumers currently use IoT-connected products or are willing to if it results in better customer service
LogMein vice president of Customer Engagement - Support Solutions, David Campbell says the new, always-connected customer expects immediate access to information and fast, frictionless service.
"Most contact centres struggle to meet these expectations because they are limited by disjointed, legacy systems. We see many forward-thinking businesses overcome these challenges by prioritising investments in solutions that unify their engagement strategies across traditional and digital channels," Campbell concludes.
