Dive Brief:

• Nearly half consumers are more loyal to brands that deliver exceptional customer service, according to a Verint survey of 5,000 people released last month.
• But almost half of consumers say companies fall short of their customer service expectations.
• “With close to a 50/50 split between [customer experience] winners and losers, there’s never been a better time for businesses to reflect on service delivery and ensure they’re on the right side of customer expectations,” according to Verint.

Dive Insight:

The quality of a company’s products or services is the only thing more important than a great customer experience, Verint found. However, businesses are struggling to meet consumers’ growing expectations for a positive customer experience, which can hurt the bottom line.

Following an “amazing” customer experience, 86% of consumers would purchase from a brand again, while 81% would recommend that brand to friends and family, according to the survey. Likewise, almost 73% of consumers would write a positive review after a great customer experience. 

In contrast, 78% of consumers would switch brands following a bad customer experience. 

More than one-third of consumers have higher customer experience expectations than last year. That trend is more pronounced for consumers aged 18 to 34, with nearly two-thirds saying their expectations increased since 2024, according to Verint.

An exceptional digital customer experience is crucial to meeting the needs of that younger demographic. Nearly 9 in 10 of consumers in that age bracket prefer to communicate via digital channels and represent “a significant portion of the market with growing purchasing power,” the survey says.

In addition, more than half of consumers say that receiving information quickly and resolving issues without human interaction are the two most important characteristics of a great customer experience.

“Self-service is therefore crucial,” the survey says.

Businesses, however, must ensure that their customers can speak with a human when needed because nearly half — 48% — of consumers still value this option.

Empathetic service, on the other hand, is less important than conventional wisdom might expect. Customers are four times as likely to rank speed as essential to a great customer experience compared with empathetic service.

“Businesses aiming to improve customer loyalty should focus on delivering the three key aspects of good customer experience — speed to resolution, resolving issues without a human agent, and seamlessly handing over to a human agent when necessary,” according to Verint.