19+ Customer Service Statistics And Trends For 2023

Customer service statistics help businesses understand the impact that a good customer service experience can have on their sales. 

If your clients get a poor customer service experience, then they could end up switching to one of your competitors.

Those that want to improve their customer retention and get better customer feedback should look at what these customer service statistics are trying to tell us.

Key customer service statistics

Here are some key customer service statistics that you need to know right away. If you’re delivering poor customer service, these numbers will make you understand why you should have better customer service teams. 

How important is customer service for potential customers?

54% of potential customers make purchasing decisions based on customer service. In fact, 19% of surveyed buyers cited customer service as their most important deciding factor.

68% went on to say that they’re willing to pay more for products and services from a business that has good customer service.

A more recent survey by Zendesk affirms the importance that customer service plays in keeping customers loyal to a brand. 57% feel that excellent customer service has made them more loyal. This only comes second to pricing at 62%. 

The same result is echoed in Microsoft’s survey wherein 90% of respondents stated that the quality of a company’s customer service plays a role in whether they remain loyal to a business or not.

Source: Gladly Customer Service Expectations Survey 2018, Zendesk Customer Experience Trends Report 2020, Microsoft Global State of Customer Service

Are businesses meeting customer service expectations?

85% of B2B customers expect sales reps to have a solid understanding of their business. However, only 57% of respondents agreed that this is the case today.

In addition, 66% of buyers expect sales teams to offer solutions instead of product pitches. But 63% state that sales teams tend to push products rather than solutions.

86% of B2B customers want to develop a trusting relationship with sales reps but 77% feel that most of their interactions with sales reps are transactional.

Source: Salesforce State of the Connected Consumer

Can good customer service improve sales?

94% of buyers say that they’re more likely to buy more products or services from companies that provide a “very good” customer service experience. Only one in five said that they will continue buying goods or services from a company that gave them a poor customer service experience.

In addition, 94% said that they would recommend a company to others if they experienced a positive customer service experience. 

Source: Qualtrics ROI of Customer Experience 2020

How big is the customer experience management market?

The global customer experience management market was valued at $8.79 billion in 2021. It is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 18.1% between 2022 and 2030.

In the United States, the customer experience management market is at $2.9 billion.

Source: Grand View Research

Will customers try to resolve their issues before calling customer support?

32% of customers will try to resolve their issues first before calling customer service teams. 34% said that they only do so “most of the time”. 

26% of respondents said that they try to resolve the issues “some of the time” before calling customer service. Only 8% said that they never try to fix their problems before calling for support.

Source: CFI Group

Buyers + customer service statistics

Buyers know what they’re looking to get from customer service teams. Here are customer service statistics that highlight the importance of excellent customer service and how it can inspire customer loyalty.

Which generation expects good customer service?

According to a survey, 77% of millennials are more likely to pay more to get a good customer service experience. Gen X and baby boomers are not far behind at 71% and 60% respectively.

However, millennials are four times more likely to pay upwards of 20% just to avoid getting a poor customer experience. Baby boomers and Gen X respondents aren’t willing to spend that much.

Microsoft’s numbers reveal that those in the 18-34 age bracket put a heavy emphasis on great customer service with 52% saying that it is very important. 

Source: Gladly Customer Service Expectations Survey 2018, Microsoft Global State of Customer Service

How do customers define excellent customer service?

When asked to define what great customer service means to them, over 50% of respondents said that they want customer service agents to be able to resolve their issues quickly.

Over 40% said that they want a customer service experience that’s available 24/7. Over 30% want customer service interactions that are friendly. Having the right contact option is also important to over 30% of respondents.

Source: Zendesk Customer Experience Trends Report 2020

Do buyers like a more proactive customer service experience?

Across the globe, 67% of customers found that they like getting proactive customer service notifications. 

The same is also true for all age groups. Those in the 18-34 age group, in particular, are happy with the proactive approach at 75%.

Source: Microsoft Global State of Customer Service

Do customers like automated customer service interactions?

67% of customers hung up on automated systems out of frustration. They were hoping to talk to an actual person but couldn’t get through.

Source: Glance Counting the Customer

Businesses + customer service statistics

Here are a couple of customer service statistics that entrepreneurs need to know. These numbers will show just how important great customer service interactions are to their customers.

How can customer service amidst a crisis affect customer trust?

90% of customers say that how a company acts during a crisis will determine its trustworthiness. That is to say that if brands provide poor customer service during a crisis, they could potentially lose their customers’ trust.

Source: Salesforce State of the Connected Consumer

How fast should you respond to customers?

59% of customers want businesses to respond to them within 30 minutes if they want to learn more about a product or service. 

When dealing with customer service, 72% said that they want to get an answer within 30 minutes as well. 75% of customers said that they want to speak with an actual salesperson.

Source: HubSpot Research

Are self-service options better for businesses?

76% of companies that offer self-service options like help centers, knowledge base articles, and FAQs are high-performing businesses. However, only one-third of companies have self-service options available.

Source: Zendesk Customer Experience Trends Report 2020

What channels will customers use to reach customer service agents?

42% of customers will try to reach a company through their website.19% will use the company’s mobile app. 

41% of respondents said that they did not try to resolve their issues with customer service teams.

In addition, 76% of respondents still prefer getting in touch with a brand through phone calls. 20% said that they’d rather get in touch via email. 14% said they used online chat while 10% used online forms.  

Some also used social media with Facebook being the most favored platform at 4%. Twitter is at 2%.

Source: CFI Group

How competitive are businesses getting over customer experience?

More than two-thirds of marketers say that their companies are competing based on customer experience. And in a couple of years, 81% expect that they’ll be competing mostly or completely based on their company’s customer service.

Source: Gertner Customer Experience Survey

Poor customer service experience statistics

Poor customer service can potentially bring your business down. The following statistics will show you just how bad customer service can impact your sales.

Will customers leave because of bad customer service?

73% of customers are willing to give companies a chance after they experience bad customer service. 

However, 26% said that they switch to a competitor just after one bad experience. 92% said they left after three terrible experiences or fewer.

According to Microsoft’s survey, 58% of customers will have no issues leaving a business if they’re unable to meet or exceed their customer service expectations. It should be noted, however, that 55% of customers expect customer service to improve year over year.  

Source: Gladly Customer Service Expectations Survey 2018, Microsoft Global State of Customer Service

Which industries provide poor customer service according to customers?

According to a survey, 25% of consumers gave the grocery industry a “very poor” customer service rating, the lowest among the provided options.

Other industries that belong to the same category include computer makers (23%), electronics (22%), fast food (22%), health insurance (21%), investment firms (21%), streaming media (21%), automotive (20%), hotels (20%), and software firms (20%).

It is worth pointing out, however, that all industries on this list have a “very good” customer service rating of 90% or more.

Source: Qualtrics ROI of Customer Experience 2020

Customer service statistics sources

Customer service statistics: Final thoughts

If you take anything away from these customer service stats, let it be this:

The quality of customer service you offer influencers the purchasing decisions of your customers. When you increase the quality of customer service, you encourage brand loyalty.

Negative customer service experiences are more likely to be shared, so avoiding them is critical. However, when you make your customers happy, they’ll tell people about that experience. And you never know which customer may have a significant circle of influence.

The speed in which you resolve customer service issues is incredibly important too. Customers expect issues to be resolve quickly.

Want to check out more of our stats roundups? I recommend reading these ones:

• Sales statistics
• Business travel statistics
• Chatbot statistics
• Digital marketing statistics
• Customer retention statistics
• Shopping cart abandonment statistics