Insights to Help You Understand the Modern Consumer
Lead Content Writer
The year 2020 changed the business work model, communications, and especially customer service. Faced with unprecedented health and economic crises, consumers shifted their preferences in a major way. In short, the way the world connects changed dramatically.
With the significant changes caused by the pandemic came the elevated role of customer service — evolving from a traditional view of being a cost of doing business to a modern view as a potential profit center with greater responsibility for customer experience.
We partnered with OnePoll, a leading research firm, to conduct a national survey to better understand how consumers view their interactions with contact centers, call centers, and customer service. Seeking to define attitudes, preferences, and expectations, we surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults in May 2021.
We found that most people today have a positive view of contact centers, call centers, and customer service. While many contact centers have focused on enabling new communication channels with technology and automation — including email, chatbots, SMS texting, and social media — our survey finds that human interaction in customer service is more important than ever.
Results also showed that although automated services are increasingly common, live agents are most likely to get payments. Most consumers will only disclose sensitive information — like a credit card number, account number, or social security number — to a live agent.
The survey’s other findings include:
- Being kind and helpful is key
- Time is precious
- Positive experiences result in rewards
- Healthcare organizations and banks are doing well
- Cable and wireless companies are lagging
- Americans are most likely to opt-in for weather updates by text
- There are lots of calls from “Unknown Number”
We compiled our survey findings into a valuable eBook resource to highlight the challenges and gaps identified by our survey in an effort to help contact centers keep a pulse on consumer expectations and better meet the demands of their customers.
Download the eBook here.