Consumers “unfriend” social media for customer service, new survey finds
By Micha Catran
If you’ve spent any time on social media – Twitter and Facebook especially – you’ve likely seen posts from consumers less than happy with their recent customer experience. And sometimes a social post can be the quickest way to get a response from a company.
Yet, surprisingly, social media is among the last places consumers want to go for customer service, according to a new survey commissioned by NICE and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
The NICE/BCG 2016 Consumer Experience Report offers a snapshot into the attitudes and behaviors of more than 1,700 consumers between the ages of 18 and 65 across the U.S., the U.K., the Netherlands, France, and Australia.
And the decline of social media wasn’t the only note worth taking for brands looking to improve their customer service. Let’s look at some of the major findings and what they mean for customer service in 2016 and beyond.
Social media customer service drops off
Daily, weekly, and monthly use of social media channels doubled between 2011 and 2013, yet those same categories declined between 2013 and 2015. At the same time, the number of respondents who never use or are not offered social media customer service rose from 58 percent in 2013 to 65 percent in 2015.
Respondents who do not use social media cited a number of reasons why: It takes too long to address issues, said 33 percent. It has limited functionality, reported 32 percent. It isn’t feasible for complex tasks, according to 30 percent. Social media was the channel with the highest percentage of abandons in both 2013 and 2015, with the number rising from 32 percent to 42 percent over that period.
Americans have low customer service expectations compared to the rest of the world
The survey asked respondents to rank 25 customer service factors as essential, non-essential, or exceeds expectations. Australians and Europeans thought it essential that they be automatically routed to the correct customer service agent without being transferred multiple times, and that their service provider rep be aware of their past three to five interactions with the company to tailor service to their needs. Americans, on the other hand, said all of those actions would “exceed expectations.”
In total, Americans surveyed ranked only 15 out of 25 factors as essential, while other countries’ respondents expected anywhere from 21 to all 25 attributes.
While American respondents don’t seem to mind waiting for multiple call transfers or repeating their information, having issues resolved immediately was cited by other countries and all industries, genders, and ages as the top factor in a perfect experience, valued by 51 percent of respondents.
Other important factors include reps knowing what consumers need and providing an immediate solution, forwarding information and actions from department to department, and knowing what consumers already did through a self-service channel.
Other customer service findings of interest
Respondents expressed decreased satisfaction and success since 2013 across the board with all contact channels (except for mobile apps), particularly Interactive Voice Response (IVR) (down 20 percent) and social media (down 23 percent).
Churn rates vary amongst different age groups. While 78 percent of baby boomers will leave a provider due to a customer service issue, only 54 percent of millennials will do so.
There was a sharp increase in customer skepticism about the effects of their feedback, with only 25 percent believing that service providers took action based on their feedback, down from 40 percent in 2012.
What the results mean for brands looking to improve customer service
This year’s survey provides further proof that customer service is becoming more complex and more critical for a company’s success. When an organization can create a perfect experience, there are many dividends. As the report’s findings make clear, ample room for improvement creates many opportunities for businesses to set themselves apart.
Every day, we see companies adopting technology to better anticipate their customers’ journey. By leveraging advanced analytics to better understand customers both as individuals and as a collective, they can align their service organization with customer expectations in order to really make a difference.
Micha Catran, Global Vice President and General Manager at NICE, has expertise in portfolio management and new product development across analytics, customer experience, customer journey solutions for the telecommunications, banking, insurance, health care and hospitality markets.
Mr. Catran is responsible for growing NICE Customer Journey and Voice of the Customer market-leading position and ensuring continuous innovation and agility to meet the needs of customer experience and service firms around the world. Before joining NICE, he was a Director of Contact Centers in a leading Telco in Israel. Mr. Catran holds a L.L.B in Law and B.A. in Economics from Haifa University in Israel.
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