Dive Brief:
- About half — 51% — of all customer service journeys begin on third-party platforms including search engines, social media and generative AI tools, according to a Gartner survey of 5,801 consumers released last week.
- Younger consumers are even more likely to seek out customer support from outside sources, with nearly three-quarters of Gen Z customers saying they start their journey with a third party before reaching an official company channel.
- Only about 1 in 5 of customers begin, remain and complete their customer service inquiries entirely within first-party channels.
Dive Insight:
Consumers are finding customer service success in third-party channels, but there is still room for companies to play a role in their journeys.
Customers report an average success rate of 62% in finding what they need through third-party platforms like YouTube and Google.
Companies should research which channels their customers use and, when it makes sense, establish a presence on them, according to Keith McIntosh, senior principal quantitative researcher on the customer service and support team at Gartner.
“For example, if a discussion platform like Reddit is commonly used by customers, the organization can establish an official social presence for their customers,” McIntosh said. “However, company presence must enhance the qualities for which customers go to those sites in the first place.”
On social media sites, this means providing easily consumable information in the customers’ language, according to McIntosh. When dealing with search engines or third-party AI, establishing a presence can mean investing in the company’s knowledge base.
“This is important because the organization remains the singular source of truth on their products and services,” McIntosh said. “Third-party platforms, including those that use AI, still rely on the knowledge content that organizations produce. One way of staying relevant is maintaining quality knowledge.”
When interacting with third parties, the goal should be helping customers achieve effortless solutions rather than taking control over their journeys, according to McIntosh. So long as companies aren’t missing out on valuable customer information, it’s a cost saving opportunity with little downside.
“If more third-party use is coupled with proactive engagement on those sites so that the company stays connected to the voice of the customer, then third-party resolution can align to the goals of the service channel strategy,” McIntosh said.
