2015 incontact Consumer Research

Transcription

1 2015 incontact Consumer Research Role of the Contact Center in Customer Journey Executive Summary March 2015 Conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of incontact Creating Tomorrow s Contact Center. Today.

2 Contents Research Overview 3 The Service Experience 12 During Purchasing and Ordering Multichannel Expectations among Consumers 20 Importance of Contact Center Agents 35 The Customer Journey 38 Conclusions 44 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, send to Cheryl.Andrus@incontact.com. 2

3 Research Overview Creating Tomorrow s Contact Center. Today.

4 Research Overview Research Objective To gather insights directly from consumers about their online and phone purchases and service experiences during the busiest shopping months of the year. (August through January) Overview The study, conducted online by Harris Poll, on behalf of incontact, provides key insights into Americans placing orders over $25 via phone or online in the past 6 months, including types of products/services ordered, total value of all orders, and interactions with a company representative at various stages of the purchase journey. Additional Information Number of times consumers interacted with a company for their most expensive order Steps in the ordering process when consumers interacted with a company The method(s) of communication used Consumer experience with the company interaction Importance of certain communication methods and customer service to Americans 4

5 Top Line Results 1. Four in five (79%) Americans placed an order for a product or service over $25 via phone or online in the past 6 months. E-commerce websites (49%) top the list of businesses or products/services where they placed an order, followed by placing an order for clothing/fashion/accessories/shoes (44%), and rounding out the top 3, books/cds/videos/games (30%). On average, they spent a total value of $813 on all orders they placed via phone or online in the past 6 months. On average, they interacted directly with a company representative 2 times. 2. Consumers will pay more for a good service reputation, but they will even more readily switch brands after a bad service experience. A large majority (86%) indicate if they had a bad customer service experience, they would very likely switch to another company in the future, whereas 60% say if they read a negative customer service (in a review or on a social site), they wouldn t do business with that company. Nine in ten (89%) say companies need to work harder to provide a good customer experience than they have in the past. Seven in ten (69%) are even willing to pay more for a product or service that has a good customer service reputation. Source: Harris Poll conducted online on behalf of incontact within the United States from January 29-February 2, 2015 among 2,028 adults ages 18 and older. 5

6 Top Line Results continued 3. Among those who placed a phone or online order over $25 in the past 6 months and interacted directly with a company representative On average, they interacted with a company representative 2 times regarding their most expensive phone or online purchase totaling $25 or more Over seven in ten (72%) interacted with a company representative about their most expensive phone or online purchase totaling $25 or more before placing the order/during checkout/before receiving, whereas 29% interacted with a company representative after receiving their order. Over half (55%) used a phone to interact with a company representative for their most expensive phone or online purchase totaling $25 or more, followed by (36%), online chat (text only) (24%), online video chat (4%), SMS/text message (4%), and social media/social networking site (3%). A majority (84%) had a positive experience when interacting with a company representative regarding their most expensive phone or online purchases totaling $25 or more, with 18% having a negative experience. (Total responses equal to or greater than 100%, as some respondents reported on more than one experience.) Source: Harris Poll conducted online on behalf of incontact within the United States from January 29-February 2, 2015 among 2,028 adults ages 18 and older. 6

7 Top Line Results continued 4. Americans set high company expectations. 86% expect companies to let them choose options for follow-up or proactive communications (i.e., , SMS/text, postal mail), and two-thirds (65%) expect companies to know their purchase history regardless of method of communication (e.g., phone, chat, ) 5. Four in five (81%) say if they are dissatisfied with an order, they would prefer to get assistance from a live representative via phone or chat rather than using or online self-service. 6. Two-thirds (67%) would expect to be able to call the same company representative they worked with previously on an order or service issue, that said, 64% would expect to be able to continue talking with the same company representative on the phone as they were talking with via online chat % say most companies provide a consistent customer service experience across the purchase journey (from shopping to shipping to customer service after the sale). Four in five (80%) say companies put more effort into selling them something than they do trying to provide excellent customer service. Source: Harris Poll conducted online on behalf of incontact within the United States from January 29-February 2, 2015 among 2,028 adults ages 18 and older. 7

8 Methodology Harris Poll This survey was conducted online within the United States between January 29st and February 2nd, 2015 among 2,028 adults (aged 18 and over) by Harris Poll on behalf of incontact via its Quick Query omnibus product. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was used to adjust for respondents propensity to be online. All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, the words margin of error are avoided as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in our panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.. 8

9 Respondents Q Have you placed an order for a product or service over $25 via phone or online in the past 6 months? Purchased/Placed Order for $25+ in Past Six Months Base 2028 Online 77% Phone 11% Neither 21% Demographics Men 48% Women 52% % % % % % 9

10 Value of Purchases Q How much was the estimated total value of all orders you placed via phone or online in the past 6 months? Placed Phone or Online Order for $25+ in Past Six Months Online / Phone Orders More than $ 50 91% More than $ % More than $ % More than $ % More than $ % More than $1,000 14% 10

11 Types of Business, Products, Services Q From which of the following types of businesses or products/services have you placed an order over $25 via phone or online in the past 6 months? Please select all that apply. Businesses or products/services Purchased over Phone or Online Order for $25+ in Past Six Months Online / Phone Orders Businesses or products/services Purchased over Phone or Online Order for $25+ in Past Six Months Online / Phone Orders E-commerce website (e.g., Amazon, Walmart, Target) Clothing/fashion/accessorie s/shoes 49% 44% Books/CDs/videos/games 30% Travel services (e.g., airline, hotel, resort or tour reservations) Cosmetics/personal care products 23% 19% Event tickets 19% Consumer electronics (e.g., Sony, Apple, Bose) 17% Food/drinks/flowers/fruit, computer hardware/software/accessories, and household goods/furniture Telecom/wireless service (e.g., wireless phone/internet, home internet, cable or satellite service) Financial/insurance provider (e.g., banking, investments, home/auto/live insurance) Online photo or photobook printing (e.g., Shutterfly, Snapfish, Walgreens, Walmart) Another business for product/service 17% 10% 8% 8% 13% 11

12 The Service Experience During Purchasing and Ordering 12

13 The Service Experience During Purchasing/Ordering Many companies talk about customer experience and the customer journey, yet there is little research information about consumer behavior, expectations and experiences connected to a specific buyer journey. incontact set out to get the perspective of consumers as it related to their actual behavior and experience during their recent purchasing journey. The online survey among 2,028 U.S. adults included questions about Actual purchases over $25 in the past 6 months (online/phone) Interactions with a company representative during different stages of the process Number of times consumers interacted with a company for their most expensive order The method(s) of communication used Consumer experience with the company interaction 13

14 The Most Expensive Purchase Four in five (79%) Americans placed an order for a product or service over $25 via phone or online in the past 6 months. On average, they spent a total value of $813 on all orders they placed via phone or online in the past 6 months. Among those who placed an order in the past 6 months and interacted directly with a company representative On average, they interacted with a company representative 2 times regarding their most expensive phone or online purchase totaling $25 or more A majority (84%) had a positive experience when interacting with a company representative regarding their most expensive phone or online purchases totaling $25 or more, with 18% having a negative experience Positive experiences were described as helpful, positive, easy, convenient, met my desired timeline. Negative experiences were described as slow, annoying, complicated, not helpful, negative. Those who placed orders over the phone had an even more positive experience (90%) than those who placed orders online (83%). 14

15 Positive Consumer Perceptions Q: Which of the following, if any, describes your interaction with a company representative regarding your most expensive phone or online purchase? (n=659) 100% 84% 80% 60% 40% 54% 51% 46% 38% 26% U.S. 20% 0% Positive Net Helpful Positive Easy Convenient Met my desired timeline Source: Harris Poll conducted online on behalf of incontact within the United States from January 29-February 2, 2015 among 2,028 adults ages 18 and older. 15

16 Negative Consumer Perceptions Q: Which of the following, if any, describes your interaction with a company representative regarding your most expensive phone or online purchase? (n=659) 20% 18% 15% 10% 5% 10% 8% 5% 4% 2% U.S. 0% Negative Net Slow Annoying Complicated Not Helpful Negative Source: Harris Poll conducted online on behalf of incontact within the United States from January 29-February 2, 2015 among 2,028 adults ages 18 and older. 16

17 Positive Phone vs. Online Purchase Perceptions Q: Which of the following, if any, describes your interaction with a company representative regarding your most expensive phone or online purchase? (online n=629, phone n=174) 100% 90% 83% 80% 60% 40% 54% 55% 57% 52% 53% 54% 45% 39% 35% 27% Online Phone 20% 0% Positive Net Helpful Positive Easy Convenient Met my desired timeline Source: Harris Poll conducted online on behalf of incontact within the United States from January 29-February 2, 2015 among 2,028 adults ages 18 and older. 17

18 Negative Phone vs. Online Purchase Perceptions 18% 16% 14% 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0% Q: Which of the following, if any, describes your interaction with a company representative regarding your most expensive phone or online purchase? (online n=629, phone n=174) 18% 14% 10% 6% 7% 6% 5% 3% 3% 5% 2% Negative Net Slow Annoying Complicated Not Helpful Negative 2% Online Phone Source: Harris Poll conducted online on behalf of incontact within the United States from January 29-February 2, 2015 among 2,028 adults ages 18 and older. 18

19 Consumer Opinions about Service Among all U.S. adults surveyed, Seven in ten (69%) agreed that they would pay more for a product or service that has a good service reputation. A large majority (86%) indicate if they had a bad customer service experience, they would very likely switch to another company in the future. Six in ten (60%) say if they read a negative customer service (in a review or on a social site), they wouldn t do business with that company. Nine in ten (89%) say companies need to work harder to provide a good customer experience than they have in the past. 19

20 Multichannel Expectations Among Consumers 20

21 Multichannel Expectations Among Consumers The majority of U.S. adults surveyed think at least six of the tested methods of communication are important for a company or ecommerce website to have available during the online purchasing or ordering stage of the customer service journey. Top Agent-Supported Channels (93%) to live reps (81%) Online chat (67%) Apps for mobile devices (50%) Self-Service Channels Online self-service for order tracking (87%) to self-service (53%) Three additional channels were tested and received strong interest from over one-third of U.S. adults. SMS/Text messaging (46%) Social networking (39%) Online video chat (32%) 21

22 Consumers Want Multichannel Options Q: How important, if at all, do you think each of the following methods of communication are for a company or ecommerce website to have available for online purchasing or ordering? (n=2028) % = very/somewhat important 100% 93% 80% 87% 81% 67% 60% 40% 53% 50% 46% 39% 32% U.S. 20% 0% Online selfservice order tracking to live reps Online chat to selfservice Apps for mobile devices SMS/Text message Social media sites Online video chat Source: Harris Poll conducted online on behalf of incontact within the United States from January 29-February 2, 2015 among 2,028 adults ages 18 and older.

23 Rise of Chat The majority of U.S. adults (67%) surveyed think online chat is important for a company or ecommerce website to have available during the online purchasing or ordering stage of the customer service journey. 32% think online video chat us important. The majority of U.S. adults surveyed (53%) agreed that they would prefer to use online chat before calling a company on the phone. Those ages (63%) are more likely to agree than those ages 55+ (38%). One in five (41%) U.S. adults surveyed agreed that they find themselves using online chat more and more for customer service. Those ages (56%) are more likely to agree than those ages 45+ (30%). 23

24 Rise of Chat I would prefer to use online chat before calling a company on the phone. (n=2028) 60% 53% 50% 47% 40% 30% 22% 32% 23% 24% U.S. 20% 10% 0% Strongly/ Agree Net Strongly Agree Agree Strongly/ Net Strongly Source: Harris Poll conducted online on behalf of incontact within the United States from January 29-February 2, 2015 among 2,028 adults ages 18 and older. 24

25 Rise of Chat I find myself using online chat more and more for customer service. (n=2028) 60% 59% 50% 41% 40% 30% 27% 25% 33% U.S. 20% 15% 10% 0% Strongly/ Agree Net Strongly Agree Agree Strongly/ Net Strongly Source: Harris Poll conducted online on behalf of incontact within the United States from January 29-February 2, 2015 among 2,028 adults ages 18 and older. 25

26 Other Emerging Channels SMS/Text Almost half of U.S. adults (46%) surveyed think SMS/Text is important for a company or ecommerce website to have available during the online purchasing or ordering stage of the customer service journey. A third (35%) of U.S. adults surveyed would use SMS/text messaging with companies more often if it were available. Those ages (42%) are more likely to agree with this statement than those ages 55+ (24%). 26

27 Other Emerging Channel - Text I would use text messaging with companies more often if it were available. (n=2028) 70% 65% 60% 50% 40% 30% 35% 24% 31% 34% U.S. 20% 11% 10% 0% Strongly/ Agree Net Strongly Agree Agree Strongly/ Net Strongly Source: Harris Poll conducted online on behalf of incontact within the United States from January 29-February 2, 2015 among 2,028 adults ages 18 and older. 27

28 Social 39% of U.S. adults surveyed think social media sites are important for a company or ecommerce website to have available during the online purchasing or ordering stage of the customer service journey. U.S. adults surveyed are more likely to post something positive in an online review or social media site if they had a good customer experience than they are to post something negative if they had a bad customer experience. Six in ten (62%) agreed that if they had a good customer service experience they would be likely to post something positive in an online review or on a social media site. Half (49%) agreed that if they had a bad customer service experience they would post something negative in an online or on a social media site. Six in ten (60%) agreed that if they read a negative customer service (in a review or on a social site), they wouldn t do business with that company. 28

29 Social One in five (21%) agreed that they use social media sites to make purchase decisions. Those ages (38%) are more likely to say this than adults ages 35+ (14%). One in five (21%) agreed that they find themselves using a social media site (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) more and more for customer service. Those ages (29%) are more likely to agree with this statement than those ages 55+ (8%). 29

30 Social If I had a good customer service experience, I am likely to post something positive in an online review or on a social media site. (n=2028) 70% 62% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 27% 35% 38% 21% 17% U.S. 10% 0% Strongly/ Agree Net Strongly Agree Agree Strongly/ Net Strongly Source: Harris Poll conducted online on behalf of incontact within the United States from January 29-February 2, 2015 among 2,028 adults ages 18 and older. 30

31 Social If I had a bad customer service experience, I am likely to post something negative in an online or on a social media site. (n=2028) 60% 50% 49% 51% 40% 30% 20% 30% 28% 23% U.S. 20% 10% 0% Strongly/ Agree Net Strongly Agree Agree Strongly/ Net Strongly Source: Harris Poll conducted online on behalf of incontact within the United States from January 29-February 2, 2015 among 2,028 adults ages 18 and older. 31

32 Social 60% 50% 40% 30% If I read about negative customer service (in a review or on a social site), I won t do business with that company. (responses: 2028) 60% 46% 40% 30% U.S. 20% 14% 11% 10% 0% Strongly/ Agree Net Strongly Agree Agree Strongly/ Net Strongly Source: Harris Poll conducted online on behalf of incontact within the United States from January 29-February 2, 2015 among 2,028 adults ages 18 and older. 32

33 Social I use social media sites to make purchase decisions. (responses: 2028) 70% 67% 60% 50% 44% 40% 30% 20% 10% 21% 6% 15% 23% U.S. 0% Strongly/ Agree Net Strongly Agree Agree Strongly/ Net Strongly Source: Harris Poll conducted online on behalf of incontact within the United States from January 29-February 2, 2015 among 2,028 adults ages 18 and older. 33

34 Social 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 21% Strongly/ Agree Net I find myself using a social media site (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) more and more for customer service. (n=2028) 8% Strongly Agree 12% Agree 79% Strongly/ Net 23% 57% Strongly U.S. Source: Harris Poll conducted online on behalf of incontact within the United States from January 29-February 2, 2015 among 2,028 adults ages 18 and older. 34

35 Importance of Contact Center Agents 35

36 Importance of Contact Center Agents Contact center agents play a vital role during the customer journey. 43 percent of U.S. adults who made at least one purchase online of over $25 during the last six months had interacted directly with a company representative at least once, with an average of two interactions. When purchasing via phone, 84 percent of buyers were in touch with a company representative in that time, an average of five interactions during that time. Four in five (81%) U.S. adults agree that if they are dissatisfied with an order, they would prefer assistance from a live representative via phone or chat rather than using or online self-service. 36

37 Importance of Contact Center Agents If I am dissatisfied with an order, I would prefer to get assistance from a live representative via phone or chat rather than using or online self-service. (n=2028) 100% 80% 81% 60% 52% U.S. 40% 20% 30% 19% 15% 3% 0% Strongly/ Agree Net Strongly Agree Agree Strongly/ Net Strongly Source: Harris Poll conducted online on behalf of incontact within the United States from January 29-February 2, 2015 among 2,028 adults ages 18 and older. 37

38 The Customer Journey 38

39 The Customer Journey The contact center is involved at every stage of the purchase journey for online/phone buyers especially for their most expensive purchases. Among those who placed a phone or online order over $25 in the past 6 months and interacted directly with a company representative Over seven in ten (72%) interacted with a company representative about their most expensive phone or online purchase totaling $25 or more before placing the order, during checkout, or before receiving the order. 41% interacted with a company representative before placing the order 28% interacted with a company representative during the checkout process 14% interacted with a company representative before receiving the order Three in ten (29%) interacted with a company representative after receiving their order. Phone is used most frequently for interactions 55% of buyers for their most expensive purchase. 39

40 The Customer Journey Thinking about your most expensive phone or online purchase totaling $25 or more, at which of the following steps in the ordering did you interact with a company representative? (n=659) 80% 72% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 41% 28% 14% 29% 18% 7% 6% 8% Before Net Before During Before After Net Within Within More Than Other Placing Checkout/ Receiving/ 1 Week 1 Month 1 Month Order/ Order Picking Up/ After After After Purchase Process During Receiving Receiving Receiving Shipping U.S. Source: Harris Poll conducted online on behalf of incontact within the United States from January 29-February 2, 2015 among 2,028 adults ages 18 and older. 40

41 The Customer Journey Which of the following methods did you use to interact with a company representative for your most expensive phone or online purchase? (n=659) 60% 55% 50% 40% 30% 36% 24% U.S. 20% 10% 0% 4% 4% 3% 4% Phone Online chat Online video SMS/Text Social media/ Other chat message Social networking site Source: Harris Poll conducted online on behalf of incontact within the United States from January 29-February 2, 2015 among 2,028 adults ages 18 and older. 41

42 Customer Journey Expectations Americans set high expectations for service especially for personalization and consistency. 86% expect companies to let them choose options for follow-up or proactive communications (i.e., , SMS/text, postal mail). Two-thirds (65%) expect companies to know their purchase history regardless of method of communication (e.g., phone, chat, ) Two-thirds (67%) would expect to be able to call the same company representative they worked with previously on an order or service issue. 64% would expect to be able to continue talking with the same company representative on the phone as they were talking with via online chat. Four in five (80%) say companies put more effort into selling them something than they do trying to provide excellent customer service. 42

43 Omnichannel: Consistent Experience Most companies provide a consistent customer service experience across the purchase journey (from shopping to shipping to customer service after the sale). (n=2028) 70% 60% 66% 54% 50% 40% 30% 34% 27% U.S. 20% 10% 12% 7% 0% Strongly/ Agree Net Strongly Agree Agree Strongly/ Net Strongly 43

44 Conclusions 44

45 Conclusions "We set out to understand how shoppers interact with companies when they are making purchases online or via phone, noted Paul Jarman, CEO incontact. Consumers still frequently turn to agent-assisted channels in addition to using self-service options during different stages of the purchase cycle, which makes the contact center a vital link to the customer experience when it matters most when they are buying. Contact Center Agents are Alive and Well Access to a live company representative is preferred by 81% of U.S. adults when they are dissatisfied with an order. They prefer assistance via phone or online chat rather than using or online self-service. A majority of buyers (84%) reported a positive experience related to their interaction with company reps Consumers expect a personalized, omnichannel customer journey that includes agent service continuity and choice of channels for follow-up communications. Consumers interact multiple times via multiple channels across all stages of the customer journey. 43% of U.S. online/phone buyers interacted directly with a company rep at least once, with an average of two interactions. A major portion of buyers (41%) interact with a company rep before placing the order. Personalized service is important to consumers, including The ability to set channel preferences for proactive communications, Having company reps know their purchase history, regardless of channel, The ability to switch channels and still talk to the same company rep. 45

46 Conclusions cont. Majority of Buyers Expect at Least Six Channels of Communication to be Available Consumers expect both agent-assisted and self-service channels to be available. Service reputation strongly influences buying decisions. Newer channels are rising in importance, including online chat, mobile apps and SMS/Text, and social media. Social media influences buyer perceptions and actions but is only considered important for service by a minority (21%) but is of greater importance to year olds (29% or one in three) Companies need to be more intentional about the omnichannel journey or face the consequences of increased dissatisfaction and churn. Jarman concluded, incontact s cloud platform can help to revitalize service that s stuck in the last decade and optimize agents to be the best guide for today s discerning consumers." 46

47 The Cloud Can Help incontact Customer Interaction Management incontact Workforce Optimization Network Connectivity Services 47

48 About incontact incontact (NASDAQ: SAAS) is the cloud contact center software leader, helping organizations around the globe create customer and contact center employee experiences that are more personalized, more empowering and more engaging today, tomorrow and in the future. incontact continuously innovates in the cloud and is the only provider to offer core contact center infrastructure, workforce optimization plus an enterprise-class telecommunications network for the most complete customer journey management. Winner of the 2014 CRM Magazine Rising Star Award, incontact has deployed over 2,000 cloud contact center instances. To learn more, visit 48