You have heard time and time again how important the contact center is to the success of the organization as it is often the only point of contact between the company and the customer. Friday we examined the results of a Genesys (News - Alert) study on the reaction of American consumers to current contact center practices and what could be done differently to ensure loyalty from customers. Genesys also studied consumers globally to gain a better understanding of the consumers’ view of the contact center.

 

Similar to the American study, consumers around the world want to hear more from companies with which they do business. For instance, 84 percent of global consumers report they would like to hear about a company’s additional products and services. Such information proves that companies have significant opportunities to up-sell and cross-sell to customers, while also engaging them at the same time.

 

Many organizations are implementing multiple communication channels in their contact centers to provide consumers with a choice on how they communicate with the company. This desire by consumers to communicate with organizations through newer technologies is increasing. Some 19 percent of global consumers would prefer to have the option of live online Web chat instead of communicating over the phone, and another 86 percent would like to communicate with contact centers via e-mail. Text messaging, or SMS is desired by 17 percent of global consumers.

 

Customer service and the level in which it is provided have an impact on the probability that a customer will stay loyal to a company. However, not as much for global consumers as for American consumers. In fact, 38 percent of global consumers report that customer service has the biggest impact on their loyalty to a company, compared to 48 percent of American consumers.

 

Other key findings reveal that 75 percent of global consumers would do business with a company based on a great call center experience, and 15 percent of those would do so even if it meant paying higher than average prices. Another 50 percent of global consumers say that the last time they stopped doing business with a company was partly or wholly due to poor customer service. In the past, 40 percent of global consumers have stopped doing business with an organization solely due to a bad call center experience.

 

Whether or not to communicate with a customer after a purchase is still debatable among company decision-makers. However, according to this survey, 87 percent of global consumers would have a more positive opinion of a supplier after receiving a courtesy call just to thank them for their business or ask them about their level of satisfaction.

 

The reality is that only 42 percent of these consumers have actually received a courtesy call from a supplier. Another 89 percent of consumers would like to receive proactive communications from companies to keep them informed about service deliver and/or other products and services that may be of interest.

 

This particular survey provides significant insight into consumer desires regarding the contact and call center. Organizations paying attention to these results and implementing changes that coincide with consumer demands see a considerable return on such investments.