[April 02, 2014] |
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52 Percent Of Consumers Prefer Text Conversations with Support Reps Over Their Current Support Method
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. --(Business Wire)--
HeyWire
Business, the leading enterprise mobile messaging service, today
announced the results
of its recent customer support preference study. The survey
of more than 700 consumers found that over half of respondents - 52
percent - would be likely to text with a live customer support agent,
and that the same percentage would prefer texting instead of their
current method of reaching customer support. These findings
confirm the growth of text messaging as a preferred means of
communication for consumers of all ages.
In fact, some 53 percent of consumers ages 18-34 said that they'd prefer
to use electronic media - email, web chat, text or social - instead of
the phone for customer support. Echoing the results of the company's earlier
research that found a majority of professionals are already using
text messaging to conduct business, consumers are also moving away from
voice and seeking to use text to engage with companies for customer
support. This trend can only be expected to increase, as younger users
increasingly indicate a preference for text over traditional phone
communication.
Key findings from the research:
-
Texting Customer Support - Over half of respondents - 52
percent -would be likely to text with a customer support agent.
Similarly, 52 percent would prefer texting customer support over their
current preferred method of communication.
-
Millennials & Gen Y - 53 percent of those 18 to 34
years old prefer electronic media - email, web chat, text or social -
to the phone for customer support.
-
Social Media is Not the Preferred
Option - 75 percent of consumers would rather text with a
customer support agent than correspond with them via social media.
-
Consumers are Frustrated with Customer Support Options… -
79 percent are frustrated with their available customer support
options, 51 percent said they had only a "ow" to "fair" satisfaction
with existing means of customer support communication - and 89 percent
said they wanted choices for how they could contact customer support.
-
…but Text Can Help - 31 percent of respondents said it
was important for text to be an available support option, and 47
percent said that texting could improve their overall satisfaction
with customer support.
The research demonstrates strong interest by consumers in using text to
address customer service issues and illustrates the emerging opportunity
for businesses to increase customer satisfaction using text.
According to Meredith Flynn-Ripley (News - Alert), founder and CEO of HeyWire Business,
this research confirms a compelling trend. "In today's world, consumers
increasingly prefer texting in both their personal and business lives
and they are clearly seeking text conversations as a fast, efficient
customer support option."
"The research highlights what many of us feel today - no one has time to
wait. Customers are expecting real-time responsiveness to their support
issues and want solutions that provide immediate answers," continued
Flynn-Ripley. "HeyWire LiveText gives businesses the text conversation
solution they need to keep up with customer demand - and does so using
each company's existing 1-800 customer support number."
Some additional highlights of the research include:
Options Improve Satisfaction
-
Consumers Are Frustrated - Consumer frustration with customer
support is clearly an issue today. 79 percent of consumers are
frustrated with their available customer support options.
-
Options Are Wanted - 89 percent of respondents responded that
it is important to them to have different options (phone, email, text,
chat) available for customer support - and 31 percent said it was
important for text to be one of these options.
-
Text Improves Satisfaction for Many - When asked if texting
would improve their customer support satisfaction rate, almost half -
47 percent - responded that it would indeed improve their satisfaction.
Social Media Is Not The Answer
-
Say No To Social Media - One of the more surprising results,
given the growth of social media channels such as Facebook (News - Alert) or Twitter,
is that 75 percent of consumers would rather text with a customer
support agent instead of correspond with them over social media. For
all of social media's connective benefits, the research showed that
consumers would still prefer a direct connection with those than can
solve their problems to sending a question into a public social
channel that may or may not reach the right person.
Interest in Texting for Customer Support
-
Say Yes to Live Texting Support - In addition to the 75 percent
of respondents that said that they'd rather text with a customer
support representative than correspond over social media, 28 percent
would rather text than use the phone, 26 percent would rather text
than use email and 22 percent would rather text than use web chat to
solve their problems. The interest in texting is all the more
surprising, given that it is a feature simply not yet offered today.
-
Text Me Back Is Wanted - Almost half of respondents (49
percent) said that they'd be interested in a "text me back" feature,
similar to the "call me back" feature used when people are tired of
waiting on the line for customer support. This is a significant amount
of interest for a feature not typically available.
Frustration with Customer Support
-
Spending Too Long On Hold - Spending time on hold is a major
source of frustration for consumers. 38 percent of respondents have
spent 10-30 minutes on the phone with a customer support
representative, while over half (56 percent) actually said that
they've waited an hour or more to have their problem solved.
-
Root Canals Are Preferable - Some 66 percent said that they'd
rather have a root canal without anesthesia, a tax audit or have
dinner and drinks with their mother in law than wait on hold for a
customer support representative.
-
Bad Experiences Make Customers Walk - Respondents were asked
what they were more likely to do when they had a bad customer support
experience. 40 percent said that they'd be more likely to tell friends
and colleagues about their bad customer support experiences; 30
percent said they'd be less likely to buy products and services from
that company in the future; 13 percent would be less likely to
recommend that product or support to a friend; and 17 percent would be
more likely to try a competing product or service.
"The research clearly shows just how important it is to get customer
support right and provide all the channel options available, including
text conversations - not the typical automated SMS alerts or
notification approach," continued Flynn-Ripley. "With a majority of
consumers interested in quickly connecting with customer support via
live texting, businesses that offer this new channel will immediately
stand out from the competition."
The full research report is available here
and can also be seen here as an infographic.
About HeyWire Business
HeyWire Business is the leading enterprise mobile messaging service that
drives business communications and customer support. The company is a
pioneer in bringing cloud-based mobile messaging to business landlines
and existing customer support 1-800 numbers, connecting businesses and
professionals securely and reliably with anyone in their business world
- both coworkers and customers. Partnerships with leading business
technology providers extend HeyWire Business' reach to more than 25
million business people and major call centers. For more information,
please visit http://www.heywire.com.
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