Poor Customer Service Costs U.S. Businesses $75 Billion a Year

11 September, 2018

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A new report from NewVoiceMedia, a cloud contact center technology provider, says that poor customer service is costing businesses more than $75 billion a year — a $13 billion increase from 2016.

In an increasingly competitive global marketplace, the margins between price and profit are thinner than ever, and consumers are expecting delivery on brand promises now more than ever.

However, there is often a dilution from marketing promise to customer support. In fact, 67 percent of consumers are “serial switchers” — consumers who are willing to switch products or services due to poor customer service.

The reasons, according to the report (a survey of 2,002 adults from the U.S.), are due to some common culprits:

  • Lack of empathy;
  • Not being able to speak to a person;
  • Inability to resolve customer questions;
  • Low energy or unhappy agents;
  • Being passed around to multiple agents or put on hold for long periods.

 
An overwhelming majority of those surveyed — 86 percent — said that if they felt they’d made a positive emotional connection with a customer service agent, they’d be more likely to do business with that company again.

“In today’s Age of the Customer, personal, emotive customer interactions play a critical role in bridging the gap for what disruption and digital innovation alone cannot solve,” said NewVoiceMedia CEO Dennis Fois. “For brands to compete … service leaders must ensure their teams optimize processes and communication in ways that create positive emotional experiences for customers.”

At Transparent, we understand the power of personal connection. That’s why we train our agents to not just concentrate on metrics but behaviors. We know that if we emphasize the latter, our agents will achieve the former.

Specifically, we train them to build a positive rapport early in the call, use active listening techniques to increase clarity and focus, speak the customer’s language (having native English-speakers doesn’t hurt), show empathy, and focus on the problem, not the person.

The poet Maya Angelou said, “people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

From a CX standpoint, making customers feel appreciated, that the agent has listened attentively and done everything possible to resolve their problems quickly and courteously is the secret to long-term success in increasing customer loyalty and LTV — and turn that $75 billion deficit into positive ROI.

It’s the power of personal connection that makes a difference!

Wouldn’t you like to do business with a company that understands the power of personal connection? Call us at 800-276-5140 or schedule a free consultation with one of our call center experts.