Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business. You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)

Millennials and Gen Z are changing customer expectations

Customer service really does matter after all

Based on surveys of more than 2,500 consumers in the US, UK, France and Germany, the company's research revealed generational differences in customer support channel preferences, with 67% of US respondents having used live chat, social media, or texting for customer service.

Among Gen Z and Millennials, 46% and 47% respectively have used social media to communicate with customer service in the past year - compared to only 7% of Baby Boomers and 26% of Gen X. More than a third (36%) of Gen Z consumers prefer social media for simple inquiries compared to only 5% of Baby Boomers.

With regard to the US, the report also provides insights into how consumer expectations have changed over the past five years. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of those surveyed say they expect customer service to be faster than it was five years ago and 89% say a quick response to an initial inquiry is important when deciding which company to buy from. More than half (51%) will wait less than an hour before trying a second contact method if they haven't heard back and 10% will try another contact method after less than five minutes.

"While customer service issues are common, it is how and when a company resolves problems that will profoundly impact future purchases," said Diane Hagglund, founder and principal, Dimensional Research, the market research company Zendesk commissioned for the study.

Additional findings from the study included:

• The good, the bad, the ugly
  Nearly all consumers (97% in the U.S., 96% in France and Germany, and 94% in the UK) say bad customer service changes their buying habits. At the same time, people overwhelmingly said good customer service can positively impact their decision to do business with a company. This is true for 87% of survey respondents in the U.S., 89% in Germany, 79% in the UK, and 81% in France.
• Customers prefer to help themselves
  Ninety-eight percent of those surveyed have used a self-service solution, including searching a company's FAQs, help center or other online resources. More than a third (37%) of consumers say they do it always. For Millennials, that number jumps to 48%.
• Bad customer experiences last
  When asked to recall a customer experience from two or more years ago, 46% of respondents were able to recall a negative experience while only 21% could remember a positive one. And negative experiences are more likely to be shared on social media than positive ones (49% for bad, 38% for good), meaning these experiences can have a long-lasting effect on companies.

"The definition of good customer service has changed. People hold all companies to a higher standard and expect them to match the best experience they have ever had, every time," said Astha Malik, vice president, product and platform marketing, Zendesk. "With intense competition, changing customer preferences, and diminishing loyalty to brands, it's the companies that invest in understanding their customers and adapt to ever-evolving needs that will be able to stay ahead and win the customer's trust."

Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business.

You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy. Grab this goldmine of easily adaptable and up-to-date strategies, walk-throughs, trends, technologies, research, suppliers and partners, plus all the supporting arguments you need to build a solid CX strategy.

While most marketers could list maybe a dozen key points for improving their brand's Customer Experience (CX), the researchers and writers at The Marketing Factbook have identified FORTY main 'CX Keys' which will help you drive your customers to new levels of delight, loyalty, advocacy and profitability.

The areas in which customers have direct contact with your organization are perhaps the most obvious places in which CX improvements can be made, and this report addresses all 24 of these 'Direct CX Keys', applicable to offline and online businesses alike.

At the same time there are many other areas that indirectly affect CX (such as the supply chain, policies and processes) in which every business can make simple but far-reaching improvements. This report guides you through the problems and solutions for all 16 of these 'Indirect CX Keys', many of which are often forgotten or under-played even in the best CX strategies.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)