Looking for customer service statistics to make your argument about upgrading your support system?

These days, companies don’t compete on products. Customer satisfaction and customer retention rely on a different aspect of your business: your customer service team.

Your customer service team, sometimes referred to as customer success, is the face of your business to your customers. When it costs five times more to acquire a customer than to prevent customer churn, ensuring your customers are supported is paramount for your business’s growth (especially in difficult economic times).

In this post, we’ll cover:

• The value of great customer service
• And subsequently, the impact of poor customer service
• How support and service influence different customer journey stages
• Soothing unhappy customers
• Supporting your customer service representatives
• And what to know about different support channels.

Let’s get into it! 

The Value of Great Customer Service

Do we really have to spell it out? Let’s let the customer support numbers do the talking:

1. 73% of business leaders report a direct link between their customer service  and business performance. (Source Zendesk)
2. More than 89% of companies see customer experience as a principal factor that drives customer loyalty and retention. (Source: invesp)
3. 68% of consumers say they are willing to pay more for products and services from a brand known to offer good customer service experiences. (Source: HubSpot)
4. For 86% of customers, good customer service turns one-time clients into long-term brand champions. (Source: Khoros)
5. 89% of consumers are more likely to make another purchase after a positive customer service experience. (Source: Salesforce Research)
6. 93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases with companies that offer excellent customer service. (Source: HubSpot Research)
7. If the company’s customer service is excellent, 78% of consumers will do business with them again after a mistake. (Source: Salesforce Research)
8. Nearly three out of five consumers report that good customer service is vital for them to feel loyalty toward a brand. (Source: Zendesk)
9. A good customer service experience heavily impacts recommendations. Consumers who rate a company’s service as “good” are 38% more likely to recommend that company. (Source: Qualtrics XM Institute)
10. Investing in new customers is between 5 and 25 times more expensive than retaining existing ones. (Source: Invesp)
11. 83% of customers agree that they feel more loyal to brands that respond to, and resolve their complaints. (Source: Khoros)
12. 68% of consumers say they are willing to fork out more for products and services from a brand that’s known to offer good customer service experiences. (Source: HubSpot)
13. 82% of customers will spend more money on companies that deliver great online services. (Source: Gladly)
14. 89% of companies with “significantly above average” customer experiences perform better financially than their competitors. (Source: Qualtrics XM Institute)
15. 74% of customers would switch to a competing brand or company if they found out they provided a better customer experience. (Source: Hyken.com)
16. 58% of customers believe great customer service is more important than price. (Source: Hyken.com)
17. 83% of customers trust a company or brand more if they provide an excellent customer service experience, up 4% from 2021 (79%). (Source: Hyken.com)

The Impact of Poor Customer Service

The following customer service statistics help to illustrate the cost of bad customer service:

18. It takes 12 positive customer experiences to make up for one negative experience. (Source: Ruby Newell-Legner’s “Understanding Customers”)
19. 58% of American consumers will switch companies because of poor customer service. (Source: Microsoft)
20. 65% of customers said they have changed to a different brand because of a poor experience. (Source: Khoros)
21. After more than one bad experience, around 80% of consumers say they would rather do business with a competitor. (Source: Zendesk)
22. Only one-in-five consumers will forgive a bad experience at a company whose customer service they rate as “very poor.” (While nearly 80% will forgive a bad experience if they rate the service team as “very good.”) (Source: Qualtrics XM Institute)

How Customer Support Influences Brand Awareness

One of the biggest trends in online sales is social proof. In other words, it’s how consumers talk about your brand on networks like social media. It can also be awards, logos, and other “proof points” you display on your website and other owned channels.

Customer support heavily influences how consumers talk about your brand. After all, Twitter is one of the biggest places for consumers to air out grievances (and we’ll get to social media support in just a minute).

23. 36% of consumers will share their customer service experience, whether good or bad. More than one-third report posting on Facebook, followed closely by Instagram. (Source: CFI Group)
24. 87% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses. (Source: Bright Local)
25. When learning about a new product, 60% of customers say they trust the reviews that come from friends, family, and other customers. (Source: Techjury)
26. 89% of consumers are ‘highly’ or ‘fairly’ likely to use a business that responds to all of its online reviews. (Source: Bright Local)
27. 72% of customers will share their good experiences with others. (Source: Salesforce)
28. For 43% of consumers, reading online reviews is now a regular occurrence. (Source: Bright Local)
29. 94% of American customers will recommend a company whose service they rate as “very good.” (Source: Qualtrics XM Institute)
30. Only 13% of consumers will recommend a company whose customer service they’ve rated as “very poor.” (Source: Qualtrics XM Institute)
31. If provided with great service, 62% of customers will recommend a brand to a friend. (Source: Gladly)
32. 33.7% of customers who had a bad customer experience will talk to family and friends over the phone, by email, or even in person, about it. (Source: Qualtrics XM)

The Effect of Support on Purchase Decisions

Even if a customer is aware of your company, why should they buy from you instead of a competitor? This is another area where word of mouth and social proof has a big slice of the pie:

33. 81% of consumers say a positive customer service experience increases the chances of them making another purchase.  (Source: Zendesk)
34. 83% of consumers cite good customer service as the most important factor-outside of price and product-when deciding what to buy. (Source: Khoros)
35. 62% of business leaders agree that more customers are making buying choices based on CX than they were in 2018. (Source: Forrester)
36. 93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases with companies that offer excellent customer service. (Source: HubSpot Research)
37. 73% of customers agree that customer experience helps to drive their buying decision. (Source: PWC)
38. 74% of customers will most likely switch brands if their favorite one’s purchasing process gives a miserable experience.
39. (Source: Forbes)
40. Behind price and brand reputation, cultural relevance drives 23% of a consumer’s purchase decision.  (Source: Twitter)

Loyal Customers Are Born From Great Customer Support

You’ve acquired customers, but can you keep them? Here’s what the numbers say, regarding the impact of customer support on customer loyalty:

41. Loyal customers make up 20% of your customer base but drive 80% of your business. (Source: Hubspot)
42. 65% of customers become loyal customers to businesses that deliver pleasant customer experiences at every point of contact. (Source: Astute Solutions)
43. Almost three out of five consumers say that customer service is key for them to feel loyalty toward a brand. (Source: Zendesk)
44. 60% of loyal customers will purchase more frequently from their preferred companies. (Source: InMoment)
45. 50% of loyal customers will make more purchases with their preferred companies. (Source: InMoment)
46. Customers with an emotional relationship with a brand have a 306% higher lifetime value and will recommend the company at a rate of 71%, rather than the average rate of 45%. (Source: Motista)
47. Emotionally-connected customers will spend an annual sum of about $699 with a company, versus regular, satisfied customers who will spend an annual sum of only about $275. (Source: Motista)
48. 26% of customers feel more loyalty to brands, while 21% of customers feel more loyalty to products. (Source: InMoment)
49. 80% of customers gradually gained loyalty for a brand over time, due to experiences with excellent products, service, reviews, advice, etc. (Source: InMoment)
50. 37% of American customers consider themselves to be loyal to a company after at least five purchases. (Source: Yotpo)
51. 52% of American customers will join a loyalty program with a preferred company. (Source: Yotpo)
52. Poor product quality is the number one reason why a brand would lose a loyal customer. (Source: Yotpo)
53. Second to poor products, sub-par customer service will drive away 23.5% of loyal customers. (Source: Yotpo)
54. 67.3% of shoppers expect 24/7 customer service, while 71.0%  anticipate more frequent discounting and 58.4% seek out free shipping in exchange for their loyalty. (Source: Yotpo)
55. 60% of loyal customers will share news and reviews of their favorite product with their loved ones. (Source: Yotpo)
56. 52% of customers go out of their way to purchase from brands they are loyal to. (Source: Zendesk)
57. 65% of a brand’s purchases come from repeat customers. (Source: Invesp)
58. 59% of consumers believe that fast, consistent, and satisfactory answers to customer queries are key to gaining their trust. (Source: Eptica)
59. A whopping 95% of consumers say that customer service is essential for brand loyalty, and 60% of consumers report having deserted a brand and switching to a rival company because of poor customer service. (Source: Microsoft Dynamics 365)

How Your Customers Influence Your Customer Service

Personalization is a huge buzzword, but it’s also become a customer expectation. After all, when you log into your Netflix account, you want to see what you were last watching, right? The same can be said of any positive experience with support, on any channel.

Here are some customer service statistics around personalization:

60. 70% of customers say service agents’ awareness of sales interactions is essential for retaining them. (Source: Salesforce)
61. 76% of customers expect personalization. (Source: Zendesk)
62. 68% of customers will spend more with brands that appreciate them and treat them like individuals. (Source: Khoros)
63. Companies that master personalization can increase their growth rates by 6% to 10%. (Source: BCG)
64. 80% of customers say the experience a company provides is just as important as its products or services. (Source: Salesforce)
65. 63% of consumers expect businesses to know their unique needs and expectations, while 76% of B2B buyers expect the same thing. (Source: Salesforce Research)
66. 59% of customers believe that companies need to provide excellent digital experiences to keep them. (Source: Salesforce)
67. 90% of people are more likely to trust a company if they have a strong privacy policy. (Source: Salesforce)
68. 88% of people trust companies that promise not to share their personal information without permission. (Source: Salesforce)
69. 92% of customers like companies that give them control over what information is collected about them. (Source: Salesforce)
70. 79% of customers are willing to share information about themselves in exchange for interactions where they are immediately known and understood. (Source: Salesforce)
71. 56% of customers don’t mind sharing their personal information in exchange for better service. (Source: Salesforce)
72. 75% of consumers agreed that they are keen on buying from brands that offer personalized digital experiences. (Source: Yieldify)
73. 74% of Gen Zers are interested in personalized products compared to 67% of Millennials, 61% of Gen Xers, and 57% of Baby Boomers. (Source: Salesforce)
74. 60% of millennials said they would not hesitate to share personal information to get offers and messages that suit their interests. (Source: Deloitte)
75. 52% of consumers presume all offers or messaging received from brands to be personalized. (Source: Salesforce)
76. 97% of marketers witnessed a rise in business outcomes as a result of personalization. (Source: Salesforce)
77. An overwhelming 97% of marketers report a significant increase in personalization efforts in 2020; and nearly one-fourth of marketers achieved a spike in revenue higher than 20% due to personalization. (Source: Salesforce)
78. 70% of brands that rely on advanced personalization bagged 200% ROI and more from their efforts. (Source: KO Marketing)
79. 63% of marketers have observed personalization increases customer interactions and ultimately, better conversion rates. (Source: Statista)
80. 51% of marketers assert that personalization across multiple touchpoints increased ROI by 300% and more. (Source: KO Marketing)

Stats for Soothing The Unhappy Customer

If your customer keeps sighing or snapping at you, that’s a sign that they’re upset with the service they’re receiving. Here are some studies on customer service that can help you out in that situation: 

81. Nearly 70% of customers are irritated when their call is transferred from one department to another. (Source: Zendesk)
82. 33% of customers are most frustrated by having to wait on hold, and 33% are most frustrated by having to repeat themselves to multiple support reps. (Source: HubSpot Research)
83. Nearly 60% of customers feel that long holds and wait times are the most frustrating parts of a service experience. (Source: Zendesk)
84. 62% of customers would choose to “hand out parking tickets” than wait in an automated phone line for service or have to repeat themselves multiple times to different team members. (Source: HubSpot)
85. 35% of customers have become angry when talking to customer service. (Source: American Express)
86. 78% of customers have given up on a transaction because of a negative customer experience. (Source: American Express)
87. 50% of consumers will switch to a competitor after one bad experience, and 80% will switch to a competitor after more than one bad experience. (Source: Zendesk)

Support Your Customer Service Representative

Not all customer service representatives are alike, but to ensure they reach their highest potential, you have to give them a great foundation.

Here’s where you should start:

88. According to consumers, the top three qualities of a customer service agent are “willingness to help” (60%), “ability to solve my issue” (60%), and “knowledge about the product or service” (58%). (Source: Business Wire)
89. 75% of consumers will still choose to interact with a real person even as the technology for automated solutions improves. (Source: PwC)
90. One-third of all consumers consider the most critical aspect of good customer service experiences to be having their problem solved in one single interaction, regardless of the amount of time spent. (Source: Statista)
91. 88% of high-performing service decision-makers are investing significantly in agent training compared to only 57% of underperformers. (Source: Salesforce)
92. 83% of high-performing service agents say they get the training they need to do their job well compared to only 52% of underperformers. (Source: Salesforce)
93. 69% of high-performing service agents actively look for situations to use artificial intelligence (AI) compared to only 39% of underperformers. (Source: Salesforce)
94. 40% of U.S. companies report that the main challenge they face in optimizing the customer journey for CX is a lack of interdepartmental collaboration. (Source: Statista)
95. Teams who are very connected show a profitability increase of 21%. (Source: GoRemotely)

Which Support Channels Should You Choose?

There’s a proliferation of support channels these days. And if you go by demographic, Baby Boomers prefer six while their younger colleagues the Gen Zers prefer 15.

So how do you decide which to support? Let’s do the numbers:

Phone Support

Phone support is one of the oldest and easiest methods of customer service. Let’s take a look at some customer service statistics around support teams using phones:

96. A study has shown that more than 76% of all consumers prefer the traditional medium of phone calls to reach customer support representatives. (Source: CFI Group)
97. 68% of consumers prefer to communicate with businesses via phone. (Source: Invoca)
98. More than 50% of customers across all age groups typically use the phone to reach out to a service team, making it the most-used channel for customer service. (Source: Zendesk)
99. 63% of customer service teams use text messaging, compared to 78% of customers who use text messaging for communicating with a company. (Source: Salesforce)
100. Before you automate your service calls you should know this; 56% of all consumers name automated telephone systems as the most frustrating part of any bad customer service experience. (Source: Zendesk)
101. According to a study, 75% of consumers will still choose to interact with a real person even as the technology for automated solutions improves. (Source: PwC)
102. 75% of consumers prefer an authentic human voice over a perfectly crafted brand message. (Source: Khoros)
103. 40% of customers prefer talking to a real person over the phone for more complicated interactions, such as payment disputes. (Source: American Express)
104. 23% of consumers look for face-to-face interaction when they have a complicated customer service issue like troubleshooting. (Source: American Express)
105. The more complex the customer service issue (for example, payment disputes or complaints) – the more likely customers are to seek out an actual person on the phone (40%) or a face-to-face interaction (23%) as opposed to online chat. (Source: Comm100)
106. 87% of respondents said talking to a person on the phone to answer questions made them feel more confident in making high-consideration purchases, versus purchasing directly online. (Source: Invoca)
107. Travel consumers are most likely to make a purchase over the phone (41%), while automotive consumers are the least likely to do so (18%). (Source: Invoca)
108. When callers aren’t transferred, 49% of people feel relieved, 37% feel their business is valued, and 34% are more inclined to complete a purchase. (Source: Invoca)
109. 82% agree that insights from inbound calls and call experiences may reveal costly blind spots in their organizations.(Source: Invoca)
110. When consumers are placed on hold, 5% hang up immediately, 28% hang up after 5 minutes or less, 26% give 6-10 minutes, and only 6% hold for 30 minutes or longer. (Source: Invoca)

Chat Support

Live chat is one of the fastest ways for consumers to get assistance. If you have not yet implemented chat for your business, here are some customer service statistics that may help you understand it better:

111. Millennials prefer live chat for customer service over every other communication channel. (Source: Comm100)
112. 30% of U.S. consumers rate chatbot interactions as “very effective” in dealing with customer support problems. (Source: Microsoft)
113. 52% of customer service teams use online chat or live support, compared to 81% of customers who use online chat or live support for communicating with a company. (Source: Salesforce)
114. 63% of online consumers said they were more likely to return to a website that offers live chat. (Source: Forrester)
115. 42% of US online buyers said it was important for retailers to offer live online chat on their websites. (Source: Forrester)

Social Media Support

Ever think about all of the people your brand could connect with if you were to provide customer service via social media channels?

These customer service statistics around social media make it easy to understand:

116. 79% of American internet users are on Facebook, making it the most popular social media platform. (Source: Lyfe Marketing)
117. 95% of adults between the ages of 18-34 are likely to follow a brand through social media channels. (Source: MarketingSherpa)
118. 52% say Facebook is the most effective social channel for customer service. Twitter follows at 25%, then LinkedIn at 8%. (Source: Salesforce)
119. Banks that rank highly in social media respond to customer service replies within an hour. (Source: Gartner)
120. Globally, 54% of respondents had a more favorable view of brands that responded to customer service questions or complaints on social media. (Source: Microsoft)
121. When a customer receives a response from a brand on Twitter, they’re willing to spend up to 20% more on a product in the future. (Source: Walker)
122. 59% of consumers message a brand to share a great experience, followed by 37% for customer service issues. (Source: Sprout Social Index)

Self Service Support

Today’s customers prefer to go the self-service route to solve their problems. A great way to offer a robust self-service strategy for your customers is by pairing Knowledge-Centered Support (KCS) with AI-powered self service. 

Not convinced customers want self service? Here’s what the numbers say: 

123. 28% of consumers say their most frustrating problem is information that is simple but hard to find. (Source: Drift)
124. 69% of consumers first try to settle their issue unaided, but less than one-third of companies offer self-service options such as a knowledge base. (Source: Zendesk)
125. Over 60% of US consumers prefer an automated self-service, such as a website or mobile app, for easy customer service tasks. (Source: American Express)
126. Organizations document up to 70% reductions in call, chat and/or email inquiries after implementing a Virtual Customer Assistant. (Source: Gartner research)
127. Customers prefer knowledge bases over all other self-service channels. (Source: Forrester)
128. 66% of customer service teams use knowledge bases, compared to 82% of customers who use knowledge bases. (Source: Salesforce)
129. 86% of customers now expect online self-service options. (Source: Microsoft)
130. More than 59% of consumers rated their AI customer service interactions at least an eight out of 10. (Source: Statista)
131. 68% of agents report feeling overwhelmed-automation and AI can help reduce the pressure. (Source: Zendesk)
132. 60% of customers agree with the phrase, “I prefer to resolve issues on my own when shopping online.” (Source: Gladly)
133. 79% of customer service leaders plan to invest in more AI capabilities over the next two years. (Source: Deloitte Digital)
134. The travel and hospitality industry expects the use of Artificial Intelligence tools in customer interactions to grow by 187% over the next two years. (Source: Salesforce)
135. 69% of high-performing service agents actively look for situations to use Artificial Intelligence compared to only 39% of underperformers. (Source: Salesforce)
136. More than six in 10 U.S. consumers say that their go-to channel for simple inquiries is a digital self-serve tool such as a website, mobile app, voice response system, or online chat. (Source: Business wire)
137. 77% of customers say that they view organizations more positively if they offer self-service options for customers looking for support. (Source: Vanilla forum)
138. 30% of U.S. consumers rate chatbot interactions as “very effective” in dealing with customer support problems. (Source: Microsoft)
139. 92% of customers say they would use a knowledge base and 83% say they’d use a community forum for self-service support if it is available. (Source: Vanilla Forums)
140. AI and machine learning would handle about 40% of all customer interactions by 2023. (Source: Super Office)
141. In 2019, 25% of all customer interactions were automated through AI and machine learning. With 90% of companies now planning to deploy AI within 3 years, this number is expected to grow to 40% by 2023. (Source: Gartner)
142. 75% of customers find it important for brands to offer them a fully self-service customer care option to answer their questions. (Source: Emplifi)

If you would like to see an example of a successful self-service system, read here to see how Informatica used Coveo to boost their case deflection by 120%. 

Wondering where and how to start implementing self service? Check out our ebook on 6 Techniques for Self-Service Success. 

Omnichannel Support

This is when a business assists its customers across multiple channels, making each interaction seamless and part of a whole. 

Below are some statistics to guide you: 

143. 9 out of 10 customers want an omnichannel experience with seamless service between communication methods. (Source: CX Today)
144. The effectiveness of chatbots in resolving issues has fallen to 28%. American consumers do not find chatbots effective, with 40% relying on other channels to reach out to service teams. (Source: Microsoft)
145. 64% of customer service teams use customer portals, compared to 84% of customers who use customer portals. (Source: Salesforce)
146. 40% of consumers cited “multiple options for communicating” as the most important feature of a company’s customer service department. (Source: Business Wire)
147. 40% of consumers say they’ve used three or more channels to communicate with customer service reps. (Source: Airkit)
148. Nine out of 10 consumers want an omnichannel experience with seamless service between communication methods. (Source: CX Today)

Enhance Your Customer Support Today

As Peter Drucker once said, “It is the customer who determines what a business is, what it produces, and whether it will prosper.”

Combining strategy with the above statistics would guide you on your journey to providing a top-notch experience for your customers, and you can only go up from there. 

With Coveo, you can deliver relevant, personalized, and quick customer support. Check out our platform here, and like the Koreans say, fighting! 

Have a minute? We’d love to get your feedback.