4 Intriguing Insights From The 2017 Genesys State of Customer Experience Report

The recently released 2017 Genesys State of Customer Experience report contains a number of very intriguing insights on how consumers prefer to interact with businesses, what information they are willing to share for a better experience, what they value most as they engage with businesses, and what the businesses are missing out when it comes to delivering exceptional customer experiences.

The information contained in this report comes from a research of 1,900 consumers and over 1,300 business users across Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific. The business respondents include individuals in executive roles within IT, customer care and marketing. In this post, I will highlight 4 intriguing insights from this report.

#1. Airlines, Government agencies, And Technology Service Providers Provide The Worst Customer Experience

In the report, consumers rated airlines, utility companies, government agencies, technology service providers and Insurance companies as providing the worst customer experience, with Government agencies being the most poorly rated. This doesn’t really come as a surprise, government agencies aren’t known for being customer-centric while the Airline industry is usually a candidate for negative publicity – from the United Airlines passenger assault to the British Airways IT meltdown which were the most high-profile examples in the past year.

Surprisingly, when those same businesses were asked about their own performance in customer service and support – they rated themselves higher than consumers did. This reveals a disconnect between the customer reality and the expectations of brands in these industries.

#2. Customers Value First Contact Resolution Most In Customer Service Interactions

29% of consumers rated first contact resolution (FCR) as the most valued customer service and support interaction, ahead of fast response, knowledgeability and even friendliness. This is remarkable and indicates that when the customer makes out time to engage with a business – he/she expects to have their issue resolved the very first time they reach out.

When business stakeholders were asked the same question, customer care executives seemed to align better with consumers as 20% agreed that FCR was the most valued in customer service interaction. IT & Marketing executives differed in opinion as only 13% & 15% respectively ranked FCR as the most valued customer service interaction.

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19% of IT professionals ranked professionalism/friendliness as the most valued in a customer service interaction, while 16% of marketing executives rated Trustworthiness of the business as the most valued.

#3. 64% of Millennials Value Personalization Using Their Transaction Data

Another interesting finding from the Genesys State of Customer Experience report is that 64% of millennials value personalization using their transaction data over privacy concerns while another 46% value personalization using preferences and contact info over privacy concerns.

 

 

"Forty-five percent of  Baby Boomers (born between 1960 to 1964) value privacy over personalization." 
- Genesys State of Customer Experience research

This information is very valuable for businesses, who can change their approach to personalization knowing that for the Millennials, providing access to their personal data is just a way of doing business while the Baby boomers are likely to hold onto their data tightly.

#4. Voice Remains The Preferred Interaction Channel For Customers

Even though there has been an increase in communication channels, the Genesys State of Customer Experience report shows that voice is still the preferred channel for customers.

[caption id=”attachment_7440″ align=”aligncenter” width=”946″] Image: Genesys State of Customer Experience Report[/caption]

The report also reveals a shift to mobile messaging as a preferred support channel. Customer preference to mobile messaging increased to 53% while preference to voice decreased slightly to 83%. When compared with research data from 2014, a significant (43%)growth in preference for mobile messaging is clear. This corroborates another report by Gartner which states –

 

"By 2019, requests for customer support through consumer mobile messaging apps will exceed requests for customer support through traditional social media"

For most businesses, a significant portion of customers are bound to be users of messaging apps and it is necessary for businesses to provide customer support on channels their customers use, if customers can’t receive service on their preferred channels, they become less loyal.

While voice is still the preferred communication channel, businesses should anticipate and prepare for a shift away from phone & email .

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These four highlights were the most intriguing for me, the 2017 Genesys State of Customer Experience report is full of very valuable information which can help businesses make profitable decisions. You can view the full report here.