Customer Service Statistics from the American Express Barometer
The 2012 American Express Global Customer Service Barometer, the company’s annual survey of worldwide consumers, revealed in its customer service statistics that customer service is hugely influential on customer preferences – especially when those customers are social media users. It proves once and for all that customer service – whether performed over social media or in-person – is not simply a cost center; it’s a way to reach new customers, earn more loyalty from the ones you already have, and boost revenue. Providing quality customer service is the best way to succeed in the high-stakes modern business world.
The survey painted a picture of consumers fed up with business’ poor customer service practices in these customer service statistics:
- 93% of Americans say that businesses do not exceed their customer service expectations
- 80% of social media user have bailed on a purchase due to poor customer service, as have 55% of consumers overall
- Americans will tell around 24 people about negative customer service experiences
As you can see in these customer service statistics, consumers’ customer service expectations are not being met, and businesses are actually losing money because of it. But the issue simply isn’t that poor customer service will hurt your business, it’s that good customer service will greatly help you business, as evidence by the results of the customer service barometer:
- Social media users are willing to pay 22% more for exemplary customer service, while the general population will pay about 13% more, on average
- American consumers will tell about 15 people about positive customer service experiences – and those who use social media for customer service will tell three times as many as those who don’t
This shows that providing quality customer service is not simply a way to avoid customer complaints, but also a way to truly strengthen your brand. By providing high-quality, helpful customer service, you’ll give your customers a reason to come back and spread the word to their friends. It proves that customer service is actually a valid way to boost revenue.
These stats also give us a good idea of what the customer service landscape will look like over the coming years. The American Express Customer Service Barometer shows that customers who use social media for customer service have higher customer service expectations, but are willing to pay a premium for those expectations to be met. As more people become engaged with social media customer service (only about 20% of the individuals surveyed in 2012 fit this group), customer service will become an increasingly important barrier to success for many businesses.
Therefore, the best way to position your business for growth is to commit to providing high-quality customer service now, both over the Internet and along traditional customer service channels. Stratus Contact Solutions can help you turn that goal into a reality.
Here at Stratus Contact Solutions, we balance experience with innovation. We’ve proven our experience and expertise by providing outsourced call center support to businesses all over the world, and we are now embracing innovation by integrating the Internet and social media into our already industry-leading efforts. We can use our advanced social media monitoring and analytics applications to give you a host of actionable data that you can use to fine-tune existing customer service protocol and begin providing stellar customer experiences. Contact us today to learn more.