The state of Customer Experience 2007.
According to a recent report, outstanding customer service is more important than low prices and quality products. In this article we take a brief look into the state of the customer experience anno 2007.
Harris Interactive recently published the Customer Experience Report sponsored by Right Now Technology. While the research results are based on consumer interviews conducted in the US, we feel confident that the reports findings are relevant to marketing and customer service professionals based elsewhere.
Negative experiences with a bigger impact
This year 80% of consumers will never go back to a company after a negative experience. And – what’s more – 74% of consumers will register a complaint or tell others of a bad experience – a significant increase from 67% in last years survey.
The upside: outstanding service as a differentiator
Service continues to be a huge differentiation. 51% of consumers cited outstanding service as the top reason they continue to do business with a company. Another 60% said it was the top reason they would recommend a company.
Arming call center/customer service centers
Happy, loyal customers – it seems – are created one exceptional experience at a time. Keeping these customers also requires outstanding performance in several areas – according to Harris Interactive – including;-Call center.
Arming call center agents is more important than ever since 60% of consumers said they prefer to speak to a human being. Amazingly, 38% claim that they have not had a phone-based customer experience that exceeded their expectations within the last year.
- Multi-channel choice: Customers expect choice and convenience, both are prerequisites for a superior customer experience. While most prefer the phone, 25% of consumers online want to engage with a company via email.
- Feedback: To exceed customer expectations, companies need to know what customer expectations are and take appropriate action. For example, 9% of consumers continue to do business with a company because it cares about customer feedback and takes action to improve service based on customer feedback.
Bad customer experiences make people sick
Harris Interactive’s Customer Experience 2007 Report also states that 29% of US consumers have gotten a headache, felt their chest tighten and/or cried after a negative customer experience. If you want to know more about how you can align your customer experience strategy with actionable listening posts, please contact TeleFaction.
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