A recent global survey of 1,207 consumers aged 18-65 conducted by NICE Systems, a company specializing in customer interaction management, found that 9 out of 10 respondents (88 percent) still prefer to speak with a live customer service representative to resolve issues versus any other means of communication.
Here is the breakdown for other customer service channels:
- Website self-service came in a close second at 83 percent
- Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology was preferred by 73 percent
- Email was the preferred method for 67 percent of respondents
- Live chat made up 48 percent
- Smartphone applications came in at 42 percent
- SMS only appealed to 40 percent of respondents
- Social media was preferred by only 37 percent of respondents
With consumers becoming more mobile these days, many are using smartphone applications and social media for customer service, but the survey found that social media only has a 29 percent success rate in resolving issues compared to a 69 percent success rate over the phone.
Reference:
MarketingCharts Staff. “Most-Used Customer Service Channels”.marketingcharts.com. 6/3/2014.
