Customer Service Statistics 2024: ROI, Tools, and Challenges

Providing customers with an excellent customer experience has become a credo for many companies today. In today's highly competitive marketplace, customer service isn't limited to addressing and resolving customers' problems. Instead, it is about creating experiences that consistently impress customers and stand out from competitors.

In addition, customer service is an ever-changing field. And companies must consistently pursue new ideas and strategies to stay competitive and meet customers' evolving needs and expectations. That is why it is important to analyze the latest customer service statistics. The latest industry data allows businesses to identify improvement areas, improve their customer service approach, and work on their bottom line.

Read on to discover the latest customer service statistics from reputable sources and learn about customers' behaviors, preferences, and expectations. In addition, you will learn about the customer service strategies employed by high-growth companies.

The Value of Customer Service is Worth More Than Price

1. 96% of US consumers consider customer service to be important, with 82% rating it as extremely or really important.

(Netomi)

Netomi asked the consumers to define the most important customer service attributes to them. Some 67% of consumers said “friendly representative” is the most important attribute when it comes to customer service.

At the same time, 61% said “quick resolution of the issue” is a critical aspect for them. Consumers also expect customer service to provide favorable outcomes (57%), convenience (47%), and a personalized experience (16%).

This means consumers value first response rate and seamless communication over personalization.

But Netomi recommends that businesses should continue to deliver personalized customer service and treat consumers as individuals (remember them, their past interactions, purchases, etc.).

Yes, most consumers define good customer service as quick and convenient. However, personalization in all aspects of the business has a significant impact on loyalty (65%), retention (80%), and revenue (93%).

2. It takes 12 positive customer service experiences to compensate for one unresolved negative experience.

(Glance)

Customers remember the experiences longer than the services or prices, making the consumer’s perception one of the most vital marketing tools.

According to Glance, US consumers, on average, tell nine other users about a positive customer experience. In contrast, customers tell at least 16 other users about a bad customer service experience.

Consumers who believe a business provides excellent customer service are willing to spend more. However, if consumers experience even one bad interaction, they will refrain from doing business with that brand.

Up to 70% of consumers who have had a positive customer experience say they will spend more with the business in the future.

In comparison, 91% of those who have experienced negative customer service say they will refrain from doing business with the brand.

The question is, how can businesses improve the perception of their brand?

• Glance suggests training customer service representatives, personalizing customer experience, and listening to and valuing customer complaints. For example, 79% of customer service reps do not ask for a customer’s name, which can make the customer feel detached from the brand.
• For every complaint received, there are approximately 26 other customers who experience the same issues but do not speak up.

So it is crucial to value suggestions and work on resolving issues quickly. Ideally, customer service representatives should resolve issues in 10 minutes or less.

Making up for bad customer service experiences is nearly impossible, but businesses should at least try. Up to 70% of customers whose issues were resolved in their favor say they would be willing to do business with the brand again.

3. 63% of consumers fall in love with a brand because of a positive customer service experience.

(Gladly)

In addition, 82% of consumers will spend more money on brands that deliver good customer service.

62% of consumers recommend the business to at least one friend if brands provide high-quality customer service.

For customers, excellent customer service means knowledgeable staff.

About 78% of consumers prefer speaking with a customer service representative who can answer all their questions without redirecting them to other representatives. This highlights the importance of product training so that customer service representatives can answer all product-related inquiries.

Moreover, 38% of consumers prefer customer support representatives who can recommend a similar alternative. 21% of consumers say the service team should spend extra time on consulting other options.

4. 48% of consumers have switched brands because of poor customer service experience.

(Salesforce)

At the same time, 96% of customers say good customer service makes them more likely to repeat business with the brand.

Brands know that poor customer service will make consumers turn away from the brand. Salesforce's report highlights that most businesses want to offer good customer service. But they do not understand what good customer service entails.

It mentions that high-performing companies have “qualities” that differentiate them from low-performing ones, which are a connection with the customer. Empathy, a different approach, and understanding customers’ needs are crucial for the service team to perform better and satisfy customers.

Moreover, customer service agents that are less likely to be bound by strict policies and prioritize consumers over the company are likely to perform better than their counterparts. Salesforce’s customer service stats indicate the same:

• 73% of consumers expect the brand to understand their unique needs and requests.
• 56% of consumers perceive that the brand is treating them like numbers.
• 60% of consumers feel they are talking to different departments, not one company.

In addition, 66% of consumers dislike repeating the same issue with multiple customer service reps.

Salesforce suggests that companies can avoid silos by using CRM software. High-performing brands state that all their departments use the same CRM software (62%).

The problem is the sales department uses sales CRM software, marketing teams use marketing CRM software, and so on.

However, Salesforce suggests that comprehensive CRM apps can be used by all departments with few dedicated integrations for each department, allowing for better communication and understanding of customer needs.

ROI of Customer Service

5. Businesses that excel at customer service grow revenues 4-8% faster than competitors struggling with customer service.

(Bain & Company)

Bain & Company analysis shows companies with excellent customer service can convert one-time buyers into loyal customers.

In order to provide good customer service experiences, companies often have to work on hundreds of uncoordinated initiatives. And it is not generally simple for organizations to identify all the uncoordinated initiatives.

What is the way forward?

Bain’s report suggests that companies with favorable customer service rates run a marathon, not a sprint. It can take up to 18 to 24 months to completely transform customer support. And the five-step strategy mentioned is as follows:

• Show the customer service agents the destination. For instance, what your company should stand for — simple, friendly, and so on. So the representatives understand the company’s needs and priorities. And change their behavior accordingly.
• Invest time and resources in identifying unique customer support challenges. And work on the root causes to improve them.
• Use customer feedback to identify significant problems. And give appropriate training at both individual and department levels.
• Have empathy toward customers’ needs. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes and redesign the bad episodes or the entire experience.
• Set achievable targets for the department. By achievable, Bain report suggests companies balance day-to-day work and work on improvements.

Bain & Company’s report also suggests that companies shouldn’t hesitate to rethink their customer support strategy completely.

In all, if something is hindering the progress of customer support, replacing it with new processes and tools is the way to sustain growth and deliver a good customer service experience.

What Do Customers Expect From Service Leaders?

6. 9 out of 10 users expect the company’s customer service to respond within 10 minutes or less.

(HubSpot)

“Immediate” issue resolution is a top expectation of customers, with 60% of them defining “immediate” as 10 minutes or less. This expectation is valid throughout the entire customer lifecycle, not just when the customer has a question related to sales or marketing.

As customers’ patience levels decrease, organizations of all sizes are turning to live chat software to connect with customers instantly.

However, customers expect businesses to resolve their issues quickly. So live chat is only valuable when the service team can provide immediate solutions.

One of the most significant frustrations for customers is when a business does not use a unified communication system.

According to HubSpot’s customer service statistics, the following issues are the most frustrating when seeking assistance:

• 33% of users find “waiting on hold” to be the most frustrating part of talking to the customer service agent.
• 33% of users find “repeating the issue” or other information while switching between multiple support reps to be the most frustrating part.
• Only 19% of users find “slow response time” to be the most frustrating part of seeking help from customer service teams.

Therefore, it is essential to integrate unified communication features into communication channels in addition to live and online chat options.

7. 76% of users expect a business to remember their purchases, past conversations, and personal information.

(Nextiva)

Customers trust companies with their data. But, over half of the consumers stress that their data should not be shared with other brands.

Despite this, only 31% of customers say they have encountered businesses that have insights about them.

Organizations, especially the small ones, rely on siloed communication models. According to many of these organizations, silos allow them to organize a step-by-step customer buying process. As well as they can predict lead generation, sales volumes, and revenue forecasts better.

However, such systems can make things more difficult for customers.

For context, multichannel customer service channels mean the other teams need real-time insight into customer activity, and one team cannot handle communications across all channels. As indicated above, customers prefer to avoid repeating their information or switching between multiple support reps.

Nextiva suggests organizations use good help desk software that allows you to manage all your customer conversations in one place.

Reliable cloud-based CRM tools can also help companies integrate third-party customer service tools and create transparency in their conversations across teams.

8. 54% of consumers say they have higher expectations from customer service today than a year ago.

(Microsoft)

Consumers define higher expectations as seamless communication, self-help guides, personalized experiences, and availability across multiple channels.

A higher proportion of consumers expect a brand to have insights about them (past purchases, issues, previous engagements).

In addition, consumers want businesses to be active across all social media channels. 74% of millennials say social media responsiveness improves their perception of the brand.

Mobile responsiveness is another significant expectation of the users. As much as 79% of millennials say mobile-responsive customer support portals improve their perception of a brand.

Consumers also want businesses to make the first move when it comes to customer service.

68% of consumers have a positive perception of brands that contact them with proactive customer service notifications. 77% of consumers say they favor a brand that asks for and accepts user reviews.

Microsoft customer service statistics also show a direct correlation between customer service quality and brand loyalty. As much as 96% of consumers say they are more loyal to a brand that they believe has excellent customer service.

Here are the responses of consumers from around the world showing the impact of customer service on customer loyalty:

Customer Service Tools

9. 77% of customers use email to reach customer support representatives, and 63% prefer live chat.

(Hiver)

Some 64% of customers use the phone to contact customer service teams, making it the second most used channel by users.

28% of consumers use social media channels to contact brands. Some 10% also rely on forums and communities to contact businesses.

According to Hiver's customer service statistics, businesses need to adopt a multi-channel communication approach. Only when businesses are available across all channels, they will be able to connect with the user at the right place and at the right time.

10. More than 95% of customer service leaders believe a CRM platform increases productivity.

(HubSpot)

Compared to previous years, there was an increase in the adoption of all tools used by the company’s care teams.

The top two tools used by customer care teams in 2021 are help desk systems (an 11-point increase from 42% in 2020) and a knowledge base on the company’s website (an 11-point increase from 52% in 2020).

The shared email is the third most used tool by the company’s customer service, which jumped nearly 10 points from 47% in 2020.

Of all the tools, live chat experienced the most significant growth in adoption, jumping to 44% from 29% in 2020.

In addition to the valuable customer service statistics mentioned earlier, it is crucial to consider another important aspect: understanding how companies at different growth stages differ in the use of tools and technologies.

HubSpot’s annual reports on customer service have always indicated that the companies that grow consistently have a higher adoption rate of tools and technologies compared to the low and no-growth cohorts.

The largest difference between low and no-growth cohorts and high-growth companies is in the use of CRM tools. Only 24% of no-growth and 44% of low-growth companies use CRM tools for managing customer service data, compared to the 48% adoption rate among high-growth companies.

According to HubSpot, utilizing reliable CRM tools is essential for customer service teams as it enables them to work together more effectively and in a more organized manner.

Nowadays, CRM tools are available for businesses of every size, meaning even a small enterprise can easily afford CRM tools designed for small businesses.

Similarly, there are CRM for startups and CRM for enterprises. The crucial factor lies in utilizing a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool at all costs, as it is evident that leveraging CRM is directly correlated with the growth of a company's customer service.

The following image shows the use of tools and technologies by customer service teams and companies’ growth rates:

11. 91% of customer service leaders believe help desk systems increase productivity.

(HubSpot)

Over 53% of customer service teams use a help desk system. It is the most used tool by customer service teams and has experienced an 11-point increase from 2020. The primary reason customer service teams cite for using help desk systems is that they deliver value to teams.

However, similar to CRM tools, the use of help desk systems is highest among high-growth companies (60%) compared to low-growth (over 45%) and no-growth cohorts (over 30%).

Moreover, like CRM, help desk systems are linked with better customer service and, ultimately, the company’s growth. That’s why HubSpot recommends businesses invest in IT helpdesk ticketing systems to accelerate their growth.

12. 62% of customers prefer completing the purchase when interacting with the customer service teams.

(Gladly)

Gladly suggests businesses should empower service teams to accept payments from customers during live interactions. It reports only 26% of customers said they would instead navigate and complete the payment manually.

Another important point to note is the personalized customer service experience. Up to 73% of consumers expect businesses to treat them like a person, not just a case number.

Millennials and Gen-Zers place an even higher emphasis on this trend at 81% and 79%, respectively.

It is noteworthy that customers tend to spend more money on brands that provide personalized customer service.

Gladly’s customer service stats show that one in four online shoppers has purchased a product recommended by customer service teams. The number is even higher among Millennials — up to 40% of all online shoppers have purchased a product recommended by customer service agents.

13. 92% of consumers expect a brand to offer a self-service customer support portal or FAQ page.

(Microsoft)

This trend is prevalent across all countries, with more than 90% of consumers preferring brands to offer self-service or FAQ portals.

In the US, 78% of consumers praised the brands as they could find the desired information on self-service customer service portals. Nevertheless, 63% of US consumers said the brands often offer too little information on the self-service customer support portals, causing inconvenience.

Furthermore, 50% of US customers have a more favorable view of brands that offer mobile-responsive self-service portals.

A high proportion of consumers also use search engines to find answers to their customer service questions. Some 75% of US consumers, 72% of UK consumers, 92% of Brazilian users, and 61% of Japanese users use search engines.

However, consumers note that most self-service portals are inconvenient. The image provided by Microsoft shows the most common issues consumers encounter when trying to resolve or find information through self-service customer portals.

14. About 50% of global consumers have used social media to praise a brand's customer service.

(Microsoft)

Only one-third of global consumers contacted customer service via social media.

More than 50% of global customers say they view brands more favorably when they respond to them on social media.

The good news is that at least 83% of global consumers have received a response from a brand on social media. However, only 14% of US consumers say they received a response within an hour or less on social media. About 50% of US consumers say the response time was 24 hours or less.

The lesson here is that brands must take advantage of social media presence. Additionally, companies should try to resolve customer service requests within 24 hours or less.

Furthermore, having a social media presence doesn't mean being accessible on only one platform. Instead, brands should strive to be accessible on all major or commonly used social media platforms.

Microsoft highlights that, on average, Japanese consumers use at least two channels when communicating with a brand, while US or UK customers use over four channels. Meanwhile, Brazilian consumers use up to five channels for customer service interactions on social media.

Therefore, having a multichannel social media customer service strategy is essential for brands. Fortunately, there are several social media management tools available that can streamline all social activities under one roof and enable businesses to have a responsive social media presence.

Customer Service Statistics: Balance the Human/Digital Elements

15. The presence of helpful agents at contact centers makes customers 6.2x happier than encountering digital care systems.

(Qualtrics: XM Institute)

XM Institute’s customer service statistics report that people prefer to interact with human and digital agents depending on the complexity of their problem. For context:

• 78% of people want human support for technical issues or problems with paying bills, vs. 28% who say they prefer self-service.
• In contrast, 57% prefer self-service to inquire about the status of a package, vs. 43% who prefer human support.

Human elements also have a significant impact on customer satisfaction. For instance, agents’ empathy makes consumers 5.7x happier than agents who don’t understand customers’ intent.

However, this doesn’t mean digitalization or automation results in poor customer service. In fact, many consumers prefer to handle specific tasks on their own.

Additionally, given the rise in online momentum, the digital transformation of customer portals is essential. To achieve this, XM Institute suggests organizations humanize their digital experiences.

Self-Service Statistics

16. 65% of customer care leaders say self-service portals effectively reduce call volumes.

(McKinsey & Company)

At least 24% of care leaders use technology to improve care systems’ omnichannel and digital capabilities.

Additionally, 20% of customer service leaders invest in chatbots and AI tools to automate manual activities in contact centers.

AI-powered customer care ecosystems help in managing and handling the challenges posed by increasing call volumes. Additionally, they effectively address limited talent availability and enable businesses to cope with other complexities of modern customer service.

According to McKinsey, AI-driven tools like predictive analytics can resolve issues before customers encounter them, improving customer service engagements.

For instance, 65% of tasks are automated in an AI-powered customer care ecosystem. Plus, more than 50% of the points of contact are automated. This helps organizations create better customer service experiences through omnichannel, consistent, and seamless interactions.

McKinsey’s customer service statistics indicate that organizations realize the power of AI and data analytics. In fact, high-performing service agents say their top three priorities in the next two years are:

• Retaining and developing people.
• Simplifying customer experience.
• And improving digital care ecosystems.

The following customer service statistics best explain the problems organizations are facing with their digital channels:

• Up to 77% of organizations say they have invested in digital platforms. But only 10% say their digital channels are fully scaled and adopted by customers.
• Many organizations also report that only 12% of their digital channels are fully integrated. And only 20% of digital contacts are unassisted.

17. 81% of consumers find it helpful when a chat window appears while shopping online.

(Gladly)

Gladly’s customer service statistics also indicate that consumers now prefer to solve issues by themselves, at least in the ecommerce realm. Only 50% of consumers preferred to resolve the problems on their own in 2020, and 60% now say they prefer self-service when shopping online.

However, chatbots are least helpful when it comes to solving complex issues (only 19% find it useful) or making changes to an order (only 18% find it useful).

Furthermore, consumers have different attitudes toward chatbots. Gladly suggests chatbots cause friction when consumers want to interact with a real human. At the same time, chatbots are valuable for answering simple questions.

Businesses need to strike a balance between self-service options and human support to provide the best customer experience.

For example, these statistics demonstrate the customer expectations when it comes to chatbots:

The survey suggests that businesses should make their chatbots efficient. The chatbots should have an easy route to connect with an actual human (if consumers desire). Additionally, it should be able to solve simple questions efficiently.

There are specific instances when consumers want to chat with a real human:

• Consumers mainly connect with care teams when purchasing for friends or family.
• First-time shoppers also connect with service teams most often.
• Customers like to chat with service teams when purchasing expensive items.
• Regular customers also want to chat with brands when buying something for themselves.

Furthermore, specific issues compel customers to chat:

• 3 out of 10 consumers chat with customer service teams because they want to know more about the product or service.
• 1 of 5 consumers expecting the product or returning an item will chat with customer service teams.
• 15% of customers having an appointment or reservation will chat with service teams.

Challenges Faced by Customer Service Leaders

18. 49% of customer care leaders say a large number of the workforce have left over the past 12 months.

(McKinsey & Company)

Some 61% of customer care leaders report an increase in total calls while stressing the increase in contacts per customer, as well as the growing customer base. 58% of customer care leaders expect an increase in call volumes over the next 18 months.

The growth in total calls in itself is a big challenge. Upon that, companies have to deal with increased call volumes, more complex customer service problems, and always being there for the customers, which are hindering progress.

But to make matters worse, employee attrition has been at an all-time high since the pandemic in the customer service industry.

According to McKinsey’s customer service statistics, managers report several reasons for employees leaving the workforce, from recruitment from competitors (58%) to work-life balance (30%).

Here are all the responses cited by the customer care leaders for increased employee turnover:

The good news is that almost all customer service leaders now prioritize employee retention and building better organizational culture.

McKinsey reports that three out of five customer service leaders are concentrating on building trust with their employees. And 24% of customer care leaders listen and act on employee feedback.

19. 1 in 3 consumers is still unsatisfied with the level of empathy shown in customer service engagements.

(Qualtrics XM Institute: State of Global Consumers)

Poor customer service experience resulted in a 9.5% loss in revenue to organizations in 2022.

The 2023 Qualtrics report predicts that there is still an 8% revenue loss risk because of poor customer experience. Therefore, it is imperative to focus on fulfilling customers’ needs and enhancing digital experiences.

According to XM Institute customer service statistics, 80% of people say organizations have to improve their customer experience. This includes customer service, pricing, fees, product features, and ease of use — all mentioned as customer dissatisfaction areas.

XM Institute's research indicates that at least 75% of individuals expressed dissatisfaction with organizations failing to listen to their feedback. The institute advises companies to utilize online survey tools to gain insights into the requirements and expectations of customers.

It is crucial to note that most organizations limit their research to post-purchase surveys.

However, XM Institute research state that such measures are ineffective because companies need to listen to potential customers in the first place. Therefore, companies should establish strong connections with people through various means, including online surveys, polls, customer reviews, and even call center transcripts.

Customer Experience Statistics: The State of B2B Companies

20. 79% of B2B companies are in the bottom two Stages of CX Maturity. Only 1% of B2B companies are in Stage 5 CX Maturity.

(Qualtrics)

In comparison, only 51% of B2C companies are in the bottom two Stages of CX Maturity. According to Qualtrics, this indicates that B2B companies need to prioritize the customer experience.

In fact, the Qualtrics report suggests that B2B companies do not currently outperform B2C companies in any skills related to customer experience.

21. 98% of marketers have a strategy specifically for customers.

(Adobe, State of Customer Engagement)

Adobe’s customer service statistics indicate that nearly all marketers worldwide have shifted their focus from engaging a broad audience to targeting specific customers. This involves aligning customer service, marketing, sales, and other departments on the same page.

Sixty-four percent of marketers say they are investing in consumer engagements for customer retention. 54% of marketers are increasing their investments in customer service interactions to meet customer demands, whereas 50% invest due to competitive market pressure.

However, there are variations in customer service investments from country to country. For example, 53% of marketers invest in consumer engagement to meet their organizational goals in the US. In contrast, 56% of marketers do it to gain a competitive advantage in France.

Nonetheless, almost all marketers also say there are several challenges: lack of tools, insufficient organizational knowledge, inability to measure ROI, etc.

For that, Adobe suggests companies use practical and easy-to-use marketing CRM tools. A marketing CRM helps marketers manage their sales pipelines, have all data about leads, and automate personalized marketing campaigns.

Focusing on other tools used by marketers to automate customer engagement, Adobe reports:

• 54% of marketers are using email marketing tools to engage with consumers.
• 49% of marketers are using SMS & MMS marketing for consumer engagement.
• 46% of marketers are using social media to engage with consumers.

46% of marketers are using website analytics and data tools to gather customer data, demonstrate ROI, and improve the effectiveness of existing campaigns.

How Can You Transform Your Business with These Customer Service Statistics?

These customer service statistics provide valuable insights into the impact of exceptional customer service on businesses. Outstanding customer service can increase the lifetime value of a customer by 6-14 times, while poor customer service can result in a 9.5% loss in revenue for organizations.

Consumers worldwide desire genuine, long-term connections with organizations. Customers expect personalized interactions and want to be remembered. Unfortunately, one in every three customers is unhappy with the empathy shown by customer service representatives. To address this, brands should train their service teams, encouraging them to listen actively and solve problems quickly.

Along with effective communication, businesses must equip their customer service representatives with the necessary tools, training, and authority to handle customer inquiries and complaints.

Listening to customer feedback and tracking metrics such as response times, customer satisfaction scores, and repeat business is crucial to improve processes constantly. It is important to note that improving customer service is a long-term process that may take 18-24 months. Hence, it is crucial to take immediate action and implement changes quickly.

Sources

1. Netomi — State of Customer Service
2. Glance — Dynamite Customer Care
3. Gladly — Customers' Expectation.
4. Hiver — State of Customer Support
5. Salesforce — State of Connected Customers
6. HubSpot — State of Service
7. Bain & Company — Customer Lifetime Value
8. HubSpot — Live Chat
9. Nextiva — Importance of Personalizations
10. Microsoft — State of Global Customer Service
11. McKinsey & Company — State of Care
12. Qualtrics XM Institute: State of Global Consumers
13. Adobe, State of Customer Engagement

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