Zendesk benchmarking study signifies growing adoption of Omnichannel in Customer Experience
India – June 07, 2018: As companies increasingly look to provide a better experience for customers, offering support across multiple channels is becoming more popular than ever. But there’s a difference between providing support on a few channels and delivering a truly integrated omnichannel solution.
The first release of the 2018 Zendesk Benchmark Report studied 45,000 participating organizations across 140 countries to understand why companies are going omnichannel and what sets them apart from everyone else.
The key findings qualified integrated omnichannel support as simultaneously leveraging channels including email, webform, chat, phone, and self-service. It was found that this approach is not only in line with changing customer expectations – it also means a tangible return on investment in terms of improved efficiency and an all-around better experience for customers.
As the study itself says, “the findings should be a wake-up call: Become an “omnichannel company” or risk getting left behind.”
Adds KT Prasad, Country Sales Director, Zendesk India, “India is no different and companies have been increasingly adopting omnichannel customer support in recent years. Based on Zendesk Benchmark data, the benefits of an integrated omnichannel approach are clear. It gives companies a single view of the customer, allowing them to improve operations by ensuring they can refer back to a complete record of past interactions. It’s a way for companies to meet customers on the channels they’re already using in their daily lives, and it means leaning heavily on live channels, which perform better across key metrics.”
Key findings
Omnichannel essentially means more efficient support. Among Zendesk Benchmark companies, those using an integrated omnichannel solution outperform those who stick to a limited number of channels or operate channels in silos. Their customers spend less time waiting for responses, resolve their issues faster, and are less likely to require any follow-ups.
- Omnichannel companies are better positioned to meet customer expectations: Customers have higher expectations, and they want to be able to move seamlessly across channels. Since 2017, a majority of customers with multiple tickets used more than one channel to reach out to customer support.
- Live channels are being adopted fastest: Live channels, such as Facebook, are growing most quickly, outpacing the growth of traditional email and webform. For integrated omnichannel companies, live channels are on track to surpass email and webform in terms of the share of a support team’s workload they represent.
- Live channels also outpace others according to key metrics: Live channels aren’t just among the fastest-growing – they also perform better across key operational metrics. Tickets handled through phone and chat support see higher CSAT, fewer re-opens, and faster first resolution times.
- B2C companies are going omnichannel at the quickest pace: B2C companies are more likely to take an omnichannel approach, as they represent the largest share of integrated omnichannel companies by target audience. B2C companies also deal with significantly higher ticket volumes, since they typically have a bigger and more diverse customer base than B2B companies or support desks for internal use.
Customer expectations have never been higher, and by taking an omnichannel approach to support, companies are aiming to meet customers where they already are. That means having a support solution that’s fully integrated across channels and provides a personalized experience no matter where the customer is or which device they’re using.
The study also found that 61 percent of respondents surveyed said they were less patient with customer service than they were five years prior. So how do companies meet these rising expectations? The answer is to focus on customer needs and preferences, regardless of which channel they use to contact support. And it means moving beyond simply providing conventional channels like email and webform, to also offering live channels like phone and chat. Customers are already expecting to be able to more easily move across channels.
The study asked respondents what their preferred channel for communication was for various scenarios:
| What the customer says | Which channel they turn to | What they expect |
| “I want to find the answer myself.” | Self-Service | Customers tend to look to self-service as a first point of contact, with 76 percent of customers preferring self-service to alternatives. |
| “I’m looking for an answer to my question, but not immediately.” | Email and Webform | With these traditional support channels, customers expect to be able to write in and receive a response in a timely fashion, though not necessarily instantaneously. |
| “I have a complex or urgent issue and need to talk to a person.” | Phone | Research shows that customers still view phone support as the fastest way to get a complicated issue resolved. |
| “I’m short on time and need help now.” | Live Chat | Customers typically write in via chat when they are looking for immediate help that’s efficient and allows them to multitask if they want. 86% of consumers welcome proactive assistance when they encounter problems online, and millennials are more likely than baby boomers to prefer chat, pointing to limited wait time and convenience as their top reasons. |
| “¡Help me $%#!‽” | Social Media | Social media is usually customers’ preferred channel when they want to write in to express their frustration. |
For the full report, please go to the below link:
https://www.zendesk.com/resources/roi-case-omnichannel-support/
About Zendesk
The best customer experiences are built with Zendesk. Zendesk’s powerful and flexible customer service and engagement platform scales to meet the needs of any business, from startups and small businesses to growth companies and enterprises. Zendesk serves businesses across a multitude of industries, with more than 125,000 paid customer accounts offering service and support in more than 30 languages. Headquartered in San Francisco, Zendesk operates worldwide with 15 offices in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America. Learn more at www.zendesk.com.
For Further Information:
Santosh Chandrashekar
Mob: +91 8095334774
Email: [email protected]
