Using Great Customer Service as a Key Revenue Driver

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Today we release the fourth edition of Gladly’s Customer Expectations Report, a survey of over 1500 consumers across the United States to understand their attitudes and behavior when it comes to customer service.

From the channels they turn to for support, to how they react to great service experiences and poor ones, here’s a sneak peek at some of the key themes we uncovered.

Customers spend more for great service

The results are in: customers are more likely to shop from a brand that provides great customer service—in fact, 84% of customers said they would go out of their way to spend more money with them.

That, coupled with the fact that customers like to share their great experiences with brands with their friends and family means customer service should, now more than ever, remain a key investment for companies.

Customers want empowered problem solvers

When it comes to the type of agent that customers want to be helped by, the ‘empowered problem solvers’ came out tops.

‘Empowered problem solvers’ were defined as agents who have both the knowledge and authority to help customers.

For companies, that means implementing policies that give agents the freedom and authority to solve issues (without having to first run it by their supervisors), and empowering them with the knowledge and information they need to help customers fast.

Two strikes and you’re out (with most customers)

And it seems that companies won’t get too many second chances when it comes to their customers.

According to our survey, 51% of consumers said they would switch to another brand after 1-2 poor customer experiences.

The lesson for companies here? They have to get it right the first time, or risk losing out to their competition.

Digital channels on the rise for Millennials

While phone and email once again get the popular vote amongst customers, digital channel usage (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp) is up amongst Millennials.

Companies may therefore want to diversify their channel offering past phone and email, to ensure they’re meeting their customers’ needs in the long run.

While hindsight may be 20/20, we hope the insights from this year’s Report will provide you with the tools you need to plan your customer service strategy for the future. For more, get your hands on the full 2020 Customer Expectations Report.