New US study reports worsening state of customer service

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Many companies profess living by the mantra of good customer service, but how many are actually walking the talk?

Outsourcing company Accenture released a new 2013 study that shows the current state of service in the US. According to the report, 51% of customers switched companies due to poor service experience, a figure 5% higher than last year.

Of those surveyed, 91% said that their top complaint involves having to repeatedly contact a company for the same issue. Others (90%) cited long holding times and (89%) repeating information to several agents or multiple channels.

What's regretful is that 81% of respondents who switched companies said they could have stayed had their former companies done differently, particularly in terms of providing customer experience.

The study estimates that this "switching economy" has about $1.3 trillion profits at play for companies that can provide good customer experience.

How to prevent customers from leaving your brand


One of the first things companies should do is to boost the quality of their customer service and place customer experience as a top priority.

Marketing Charts also posted specific areas for improvement based on the aforementioned study. According to the website, companies should improve first contact resolution, provide a pro-active approach, and offer a better service and more options particularly in the mobile channel. Giving preferential treatment is also a big thumbs up to customers.

All in all, this emphasizes how important it is for companies to focus on strategies to make their customers stay. Excellent service is a must, not merely an option. This is especially true in the present times, where customers have higher expectations of companies and where there are numerous competitors they can easily turn to for a better experience.

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