In an era where customer expectations for exceptional service continue to rise, the pursuit of a winning customer experience (CX) has become imperative.
Our latest research, summarised in the 2024 State of CX in Australia: Uncover the Power of Customer Experience Excellence report, highlights that today Australians have a better understanding of what constitutes an exceptional service experience, and the importance of human touch in customer service.
Now in its 8th year, the research delves into the dynamic evolution of the customer service experience, provides insights into the key factors that drive customer service excellence, and the cost of poor customer experience.
A notable addition to this year’s findings is the introduction of the Customer Service Excellence (CSX) score, providing a comprehensive assessment of consumer sentiments across fourteen diverse industries. This metric serves as a barometer, gauging the effectiveness of customer service initiatives and highlighting areas for improvement.
These insights will enable brands to optimise their customer service strategies, ensuring ongoing relevance and competitiveness in the market.
Key Findings: Paving the Path to Customer Experience Excellence
- Customer service perceptions: Though companies are striving to enhance customer service experiences, over 70% of Australian consumers are routinely failing to perceive any improvements – a perception that has not changed over the past three years.
- What defines excellent customer service? For most Australians, excellent customer service means accessing knowledgeable human representatives and high-quality, consistent information – a growing trend since 2016.
- Customer Experience quality score by industry: The industries with the most positive customer service experience are food services and beauty & personal care. At the other end of the spectrum, the industries with the lowest customer service experience scores are government institutions and utility services.
- Preferred customer service contact channels: Speaking with a human on the phone remains, by a large margin, the preferred channel for complex enquiries (77%). A company website/FAQ page is the preferred channel for simple enquiries (47%). The more complex the enquiry, the higher the preference is for human-assisted channels. This has been an increasing trend across the top preferred human-powered channels since 2016. Australian consumers prefer a broader range of digital service channels to resolve simple customer service issues.
- Word of mouth: Australians are more likely to be vocal about their negative experiences than their positive experiences, with 87% of customers having shared a negative experience, and 78% having shared a positive one. In general, the majority of customers share their customer experiences in person and with 1-5 people.
- Outcome of bad customer experience: Australian consumers have a diminishing tolerance for bad customer service experiences. After having a negative experience in the past year, 37% of consumers have stopped purchasing from a company. The top reason to stop purchasing was because consumers switched to a competitor’s product (33%).
- The impact of negative and positive experiences: A negative customer experience has a profound impact on consumer behaviour, particularly on customer satisfaction, confidence and trust. After having a positive experience, over 70% of consumers said that they are more likely to engage with a company in the future. Positive experiences have a greater influence on retaining customers than negative experiences have on losing them.
In the pursuit of enhancing the customer experience, a key theme emerges: the critical role of human engagement.
Elevating CX: The human touch
Enhanced customer experience demands quality information and human expertise. Despite the new and diverse contact channels available today, Australians increasingly value knowledgeable human representatives. With eight-in-ten Australians saying that great customer service means accessing knowledgeable human representatives (vs. 57% in 2016).
Therefore to excel in this landscape, brands are compelled to create customer service experiences that prioritise human connection and empower employees to deliver exceptional customer service.
In 2024, Australian consumers are setting higher standards for customer service experiences, yet a discernible gap persists between these expectations and the reality of service delivery. To maintain a competitive edge and elevate customer satisfaction, businesses must bridge this divide. This entails aligning their service experience with the evolving expectations of consumers, thereby securing a strategic advantage and delivering an outstanding customer service experience.
