Consumers have been interacting with companies and brands for decades. However, only in recent years has the customer experience become an integral part of the overall buyer’s journey. Customers value a company’s attention to their needs and concerns far beyond their initial purchases or services. Pivoting business resources and focusing on customer interactions, provides key insights into improving customer retention and loyalty to your company and brand.

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Fully immersed in the call center customer service industry, our team at Brightmetrics™ promotes the use of data analytics to improve customer experiences. By leveraging the data your business call center or contact center is already collecting and using that data to visualize your customer interactions, companies can easily make strategic data-driven, and customer-focused decisions.

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Here are 22 interesting customer service statistics to consider when evaluating your contact center customer experience strategy and goals.

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The Value of Good CX

1. 94% of American consumers will recommend a company whose service they rate as “very good.” (Qualtrics)

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2. Nearly three out of five consumers report that good customer service is vital for them to feel loyalty toward a brand. (Zendesk)

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3. Increasing customer retention rates by just 5% can increase profits by between 25% and 95%. (Bain and Company)

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4. Investing in new customers is between 5 and 25 times more expensive than retaining existing ones. (Invesp)

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Time Is Money

5. 90% of customers rate an "immediate" response as essential or very important when they have a customer service question. 60% of customers define "immediate" as 10 minutes or less. (Hubspot)

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6. Only 17% of consumers would recommend a brand that provides a slow but effective solution. (Harvard Business Review)

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7. What about fast but ineffective? 33% of consumers would still recommend a brand that provides a quick but ineffective response. (Harvard Business Review)

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Customer Loyalty > Customer Acquisition

8. In 2020 the customer experience management market was estimated to be $7.6 billion. Which was a 16.9% year-over-year increase from its value of $6.5 billion in 2019. (Grand View Research)

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9. 90% of Americans use customer service as a factor in deciding whether or not to do business with a company. (Microsoft)

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10. 72% of customers will tell six or more people if they have a satisfying experience. (Esteban Kolsky)

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Areas of Growth and Opportunity

11. Call centers and contact centers are here to stay. The global contact center market size amounted to 339.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. This industry is expected to grow steadily in the next few years and reach a value of 496 billion U.S. dollars by 2027. (Statista)

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12. 34% of Americans said “Automated Telephone System (IVR)/inability to reach a live person for customer support” was their biggest detractor in the customer service exchange. (Capterra)

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13. Once customers navigated the IVR system and actually got to a call center representative, the other two-thirds of consumers reported that the most frustrating aspect of getting customer service is waiting on hold or having to explain the same information to multiple representatives. (Hubspot)

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14. 72% of companies think that they can use analytics reports to enhance their customer service experience. (InsightSquared)

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Keep it Simple

15. 28% of consumers say the most frustrating issue is information that is simple but hard to find. (Drift)

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16. 69% of consumers try to resolve their issue independently first before any direct outreach, but less than one-third of companies offer self-service options such as a knowledge base. (Zendesk)

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Options Are Necessary

17. The average consumer wants 13 different channel options when interacting with a company or organization. Website, phone, “contact us” forms, live chat, SMS chat, email, downloadable content, Twitter, Facebook Messenger, Instagram DMs and comments, and community forums all come together to give your customers access to helpful information to resolve any issues or provide feedback. (Hubspot)

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18. 71% of consumers who have had a positive experience with a business on social media are likely to recommend the brand to family and friends. (Invesp)

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19. Millennials prefer live chat to any other communication channel when contacting brands. The number one reason for this is that it drastically decreases hold time. (Comm100)

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Put Yourself in Your Customer’s Shoes

20. 70% of the customer's journey is based on how the customer feels they are being treated. Sometimes it is not what it is being said, it is how it is being said and tone can make a huge difference in how your customers feel about the message they are receiving. (McKinsey)

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21. In a time of data mining and data leaking making headlines, 88% of people trust companies that vow not to share their personal information without permission. (Salesforce)

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22. 56% of customers don’t mind sharing their personal information in exchange for better service. (Salesforce)

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The Statistics Don't Lie

There are many elements that come together to work in synchronicity within a customer service environment. So many individuals, teams, and managers are responsible for designing and maintaining this ecosystem of interactions. But when it comes down to it, superior customer service is essential to your brand. With knowledge and the proper tools on your side, there is a bright future ahead for your organization.

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Bonus Stats: Making History

23. In 2016, a Zappos employee remained on the phone with a customer for a record 10 hours and 43 minutes. Both the customer and the agent reported the exchange to be “delightful”. (Business Insider)

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24. The UK record holder for the longest time spent on hold belongs to a disgruntled customer, Paul Donovan, who ultimately fell asleep while waiting for assistance and awoke still connected to the company’s call center with a hold time of 14 hours and 31 minutes. (Mirror)

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