Customer Service Statistics: Current Trends & Staggering Stats That Show the Growing Importance of Customer Service

You might think that price is the key factor that influences a customer’s purchasing decision. Think twice—64% of people say customer experience is more important. A 1% improvement in resolving issues on the first call results in a $276,000 reduction in operational costs per year—and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

To better understand how paramount customer service is and detect areas of improvement, we prepared a list of the most important customer service statistics. By knowing these stats, you’ll gain insights into the customer service landscape and how customers interact with companies in this modern age. 

Whether you are looking for better insight into customer expectations or you’re just curious about the current customer service industry, read on!

What Is Customer Service?

Customer service is the support given to customers before, during and after they purchase a product or service. It can be as broad or as narrow as the customer’s needs are, and as such, it may involve: 

• Providing information or solutions to any customers’ issues 
• Helping customers make decisions on which products or services suit their needs best
• Responding promptly to customer inquiries or complaints
• Giving details about an order's status
• Handling returns 

Good customer service not only increases customer satisfaction but also helps organizations retain customers, build loyalty and generate referrals. It is also important from a legal perspective—by delivering good customer service, companies ensure they meet their obligations under consumer law.

The stakes are high—74% of customers will turn to the competition if they provide a better customer experience. Given the pressure, many companies opt for customer service outsourcing—as a matter of fact, customer service is among the top four commonly outsourced services. 

Luckily, in today’s modern business world, firms are spoilt for choice—you can always hire one of the top phone answering services or top call center companies to handle all customer inquiries. 62% of organizations claim customer experience provided through contact centers is a competitive differentiator that yields results, so you might as well give it a go. 

Why Understanding Customer Service Statistics Is a Must

Understanding customer service statistics is vital for businesses as it can help them identify areas of improvement in the customer experience. With access to such data, companies can track customer engagement levels and gauge response times, allowing them to fix any issues. 

Analyzing customer service metrics over time helps firms spot trends and decide where to focus their resources accordingly. Understanding these metrics allows you to measure success more accurately by taking into account a wider range of factors beyond just sales figures. This is why 80% of companies use customer satisfaction metrics to analyze customer experience and improve it.

Below, we’ll discuss several customer service statistics that matter for your business! 

Customer Service ROI

Customer service ROI is the return on investment derived from customer service initiatives. It looks at how customer service actions, such as increased access to service channels and added support staff, are impacting customer satisfaction, efficiency and profitability. 

In addition to cost analysis, customer service ROI translates into a broader assessment of customer experience across all touchpoints which include contact volume handled, resolution rate and repeat contact production. 

The ultimate goal is greater loyalty and retention of existing customers as investing in new ones is between 5 to 25 times more expensive than retaining current ones. Of course, customer services focus on attracting new clients as well.

The benefits? Countless! 

For instance: 

• 68% of consumers will pay more for products and services from a brand that offers a good customer service experience 
• 86% of customers agree that good customer experience has turned them from one-time to long-term buyers
• 38% of clients are more likely to recommend a business after a good experience with the customer service team
• 89% of consumers are very likely to make another purchase following a positive customer service experience and 78% of them will buy again even after a mistake if the company’s customer service is generally excellent
• 93% of customers tend to buy again from companies that offer excellent customer service
• Increased customer retention rates by just 5% can result in increased profits by 25%-95%
• Three out of five consumers agree good customer service impacts their loyalty to a brand
• Businesses that focus on customer experience can earn 80% more and can outperform their competitors by 4 to 8%

These customer service statistics demonstrate the importance of providing excellent customer service experiences and taking advantage of technological advancement, as 59% of customers claim businesses need to improve the training of their customer service agents. 

How Poor Customer Service Affects Business’s Success

Poor customer service leads to reputational damage, decreased profits and customer attrition. It’s also costly for businesses due to refunds and retraining costs. It indirectly influences the marketing and advertising costs as organizations spend more money trying to attract new customers to make up for those who left due to inadequate service. 

Substandard customer service can hinder employee morale by creating stress for staff that must deal with frustrated customers on a regular basis, resulting in employee burnout and absenteeism. You’ll need to invest time and resources into internal customer service, which is yet another task added to an already stretched schedule. 

According to the latest research:

• 78% of customers have decided not to make a purchase due to poor customer experience which results in a $62 billion loss
• 72% of clients will choose another brand if they have a single bad experience and 80% would rather do business with a competitor after more than one bad experience
• 65% of consumers switched brands due to poor experience
• It takes 12 positive customer experiences to reverse the damage done by one negative customer experience
• 96% of unhappy customers never complain but will spread the word about their unsatisfactory experience and 91% of them will leave for good
• No matter the cost of an answering service, it’s a necessary expense as 33% of customers are frustrated when waiting on hold
• Only 1 in 5 consumers will forgive a bad experience at a firm that has very poor customer service

Unfortunately, the percentage of customers satisfied with their shopping experiences has been steadily decreasing over the years. Over 85% of customers want businesses to be more proactive about addressing customer service issues. This is indicative of the fact that businesses should pay more attention to customer service, taking extra measures to ensure customer satisfaction. 

Hearing Customers’ Feedback & Acting on It 

Customer service, as the name implies, is all about serving the customer. 70% of the customer’s journey is based on how they feel the brand is treating them. Contradictory enough, 53% of consumers believe their feedback isn’t even heard, let alone acted upon. And, feeling unappreciated is the primary reason customers switch brands. 

Understanding how your customer feels when doing business with you is your main indicator of how good your customer services actually are. More importantly, it can make or break your business—67% of customer churn can be resolved if brands can provide solutions to problems immediately after they arise.

Moreover: 

• 90% of customers say an immediate response is essential or very important when they reach out to customer service
• Over 70% of customers believe companies should be more involved so they don’t have to repeat the same information to a bunch of representatives 
• For 90% of consumers, issue resolution is the most important customer service concern 
• 71% of millennials say a quick response improves their customer experience 
• 33% of people agree that having their issue resolved in a single interaction is a crucial aspect of satisfactory customer service
• 59% of customers believe companies should rely on digital solutions to provide a better customer experience
• 72% of consumers expect customer service agents to have insights into their engagement with the brand 
• 77% of clients favor brands that ask and accept customer feedback
• 68% of consumers claim polite customer service agents are key to superb customer service
• 90% of clients expect organizations to have an online self-service customer support portal 
• Personalized customer experience can increase online conversion rates by approximately 8%
• 36% of consumers will share their customer service experience
• 79% of customers who talk about their complaints online say they’re ignored 

General Customer Service Statistics You Can’t Afford to Ignore 

Customer service statistics give you a pretty clear picture of the importance of customer satisfaction. Plus, the numbers can help you detect areas of improvement you didn’t think of before and show you what you need to be doing to provide clients with the best possible experience. 

These are some customer service stats that any business owner has to keep in mind: 

• 96% of consumers worldwide claim customer service is important in their choice of loyalty to a brand 
• Americans are very likely to pay 17% more to buy from businesses with a great customer service reputation 
• Companies that prioritize providing superb customer services saw an increase of 10-15% in revenue and 20% in customer satisfaction
• 38% of customers will avoid a company for two years after a poor customer service experience
• 46% of business owners expect their contact centers to grow by 5%-10% 
• Customers are four times more likely to go to the competition if the problem they’re facing is service-based
• 79% of millennials are more likely to buy from a brand with a mobile-responsive customer support portal 
• 30% of people claim chatbots are very effective, but 75% will still choose to interact with a real person 
• 76% of consumers prefer to reach customer support via phone calls
• 72% of customers see the brand in a better light if they provide a customer service app

Customer Service Statistics: Key Takeaways

Now that we highlighted the most important customer service statistics, you can see that providing excellent customer service is essential for businesses to remain successful and competitive in the market. 

From short response times to personalized interactions, customers expect these things from businesses, and companies should strive to meet their expectations. As technology continues to improve, companies can make good use of it to make the customer experience better.