Is Good Customer Service More Important Than Managing Costs?
Enghouse Interactive Explains State of Customer Interactions in U.S. Business in First Customer Interaction Index
According to the Enghouse Interactive Customer Interaction Index, a survey released by Enghouse Interactive today, U.S. IT decision makers say good customer service is more important that managing costs. The Customer Interaction Index captures the state of customer interactions in U.S. businesses from the perspective of technology decision makers. Kelton Research, a leading national public opinion company, conducted the survey among 227 senior IT professionals from U.S.-based companies with revenues between $50 million and $1 billion annually.
Almost seven in ten (68%) of the IT decision-makers surveyed believe that delivering customer service is more important than managing costs, indicating that most U.S. companies are trying to put customer service at the heart of their business. Additionally, 65% of survey respondents stated that they feel personal pressure to help their company be recognized for providing good customer service.
“Currently, most U.S. businesses are pushing for better customer service, which is extremely positive. But businesses are in transition. They need to incorporate new methods of customer interactions into their portfolio. We can see from the data that newer technologies like mobile apps and social media are being treated seriously even though they currently make up a minority of customer interactions. The major concern we have is that newer technologies could make customer interactions more siloed if they are not handled within the context of a broader plan which can incorporate structured, unstructured and self-service interactions.”
- Alex Black, CTO, Enghouse Interactive
Other key findings from the report include:
- Non-traditional media, including social media, makes up the majority of customer interactions in just 2% of businesses
- 57% of businesses try their best to cater to the communication preferences of different demographics
- 33% of IT decision-makers spend 60% or more of their time trying to make business processes more efficient
- Only 7% of businesses say that they do not have any applications in the cloud
>> View the Enghouse Interactive press release for complete survey details.
“The major concern we have is that newer technologies could make customer interactions more siloed if they are not handled within the context of a broader plan.”
I think that’s a very interesting perspective. It is easy to lose the forest for the trees, especially when dealing with new technologies and platforms. Being able to integrate social media and mobile apps into existing customer service management programs is very important to make sure you are getting the whole picture.