Customer Service by the Numbers

As the old saying goes, “One thing that is always constant is change.” We all know that our industry is rapidly changing. From the technology we use to the clients we service, the needs of those in the business world continue to morph.

Consumers continue to gain power in the communication process. One can now contact a company through multiple channels. No more is the single consumer experience muffled, one can broadcast how the experience went through a multitude of social media outlets to a worldwide audience.

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Here are some 2012 statistics about our industry that you might find surprising and helpful when understanding the impact of customer service:

• 86% of consumers will pay more for a better customer service experience; in fact, they will spend about 21% more.
• A business loses an average annual value of $289 per customer relationship lost to a competitor or abandoned.
• 24% of consumers who experience poor customer service shared their story through social media networks in 2010, a 50% increase over 2009.
• US consumers prefer to resolve their customers service issues using the telephone (90%), face to face (75%), company website or email (67%), online chat (47%), text message (22%), social networking site (22%).
• 89% of consumers began doing business with a competitor after encountering a poor customer experience elsewhere.
• Customer power has grown. 73% of firms trust recommendations from friends and family, while only 19% trust direct mail pieces.
• Customers who engage with companies over social media spend 20% to 40% more money with those companies than other customers.
• The verticals with the lowest percentage of complaint calls are entertainment / leisure (1.7%) and manufacturing (2%).
• 80% of consumers prefer talking to an agent on the phone with email second (33%).
• Happy customers who get a need or issue resolved tell 4 to 6 people about it.
• It takes 12 positive service experiences to make up for one negative experience.
• 73% of consumers would expand their purchases based on the customer service they received.
• 71% of people believe in the next two years they will communicate with customer service more through online phone than any other media.

One thing we can learn about all of these stats is that it pays to offer the best products to your customer and to always do so in a way that has their best interest in mind.

Customers are willing to pay more for great service. Let’s never stop trying to provide that to them.

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