10 statistics to help improve service at your contact centre

Excellence in customer service is one of the key factors that helps our contact center services at Miratel stand out for our clients. High-quality customer service remains the consistent goal of all businesses that are customer facing, the actuality is that all businesses have customers at some level but the attention to customer service still doesn’t always provide the results that it should. The statistics I want to share today come from an interesting variety of sources in the UK but that doesn’t mean the root cause of a poor customer experience would be any different here, just that the percentages would hopefully be a little more encouraging.

I wanted to highlight 10 of the most revealing results from the list which go along with explaining what customers expect and what is most important to them. Customer expectations continue to rise and the economy has resulted in this being a buyers market and all signs are that this will continue. Efficiency and ease of communication are obviously key and pricing alone will not often override the importance of quality. Word of mouth due to ever-increasing levels of connectivity continues to grow in importance. Quality in how transactions are handled and how well follow-up support is provided as and when needed. A personal touch even in the age of high technology is is still expected and definitely valued. Finding the right balance of efficiency and accuracy is of paramount importance, customers don’t want to wait yet at the same time expect things to be done accurately the first time.

Let’s get on to the results:

1. 24% of UK customers have stopped doing business with a company within the last six months due to a bad customer experience. Key reasons:

• 23% Unfair fees or charges
• 22% Poor product or service quality
• 19% Rude or disinterested employees
• 12% Couldn’t get hold of anyone to deal with my problem
• 7% Discounts for new customers but not for existing customers
• 4% Inadequate return or refund policy
• 5% Out of territory call centres
• 1% Inadequate environmental policy
• 7% Other

Source: Satmetrix

2. UK customers feel ‘Customer Service Experiences Generally….’

• Exceed Expectations – 2%
• Meet Expectations – 62%
• Miss Expectations – 32%
• (4% unsure)

Source: American Express Global Customer Service Barometer

3. 73% of consumers end a relationship due to poor service and the root causes are:

• Having to repeat information
• Feeling trapped in automated self – service
• Having to wait too long
• Interacting with staff who have no knowledge of the service history (or customer value)
• Unable to easily switch between communication channels

Source: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Report – The Cost Of Poor Customer Service

4. 86% of consumers quit doing business with a company because of a bad customer experience, up from 59% 4 years ago.

Source: Harris Interactive, Customer Experience Impact Report

5. 50% of new callers don’t ring back if they don’t get an answer when they call, and 15% of existing customers don’t call again if they get the same experience!

Source: Moneypenny

6. Almost 1 in 5 of UK businesses don’t respond to email enquiries from customers.

Source: Direct Marketing Association Report

7. 49% of customers see personal recommendations from friends, family or colleagues as the most trustworthy source of information.

Source: Satmetrix

8. 90% of online consumers worldwide trust recommendations from people they know and 70% trust consumer opinions posted online.

Source: Neilson

9. 74% customers would be prepared to pay more for a product if it came with better service.

Source: Retail Eyes Report

10. More than 50% of UK customers will spend more on products and services if the service experience was guaranteed to be first class.

Source: American Express Global Customer Service Barometer

Making conclusions that can positively impact your business from such a broad range of results isn’t as difficult as it might first appear, in fact the summary of what these numbers infer should be fairly intuitive. Combining personal attention with professional accuracy holds a definitive value for customers, operating transparently and consistently whilst being accessible and responsive will help to retain customers. Finally it appears that customers are more likely than ever to simply go elsewhere if not satisfied and share their experiences with others. Heading into 2011 is a great time to ask whether your business is doing all it can to land on the positive side of results such as those above.

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