Businesses continue to face increasing pressure to deliver consistent service and reliable products. On today’s episode of CBT Now, Shep Hyken, customer service and CX keynote speaker, New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author, highlights how product quality, trust and convenience will drive customer loyalty in 2026.
According to Hyken’s 2026 State of Customer Service and Customer Experience report, the key to driving customer loyalty is product quality. Ninety-six percent of surveyed consumers say product quality is more important than service, indicating that even the best service cannot compensate for products that fail to meet expectations.
The report also reveals that convenience outweighs friendliness, with 65% of respondents prioritizing efficiency and ease of use over friendly interactions. This trend is particularly prevalent among Baby Boomers and Gen X, while younger generations place a higher value on empathetic, more personable interactions. In addition, 59% of consumers say excellent service is more important than price, highlighting that strong customer experiences not only foster loyalty but can justify higher price points.
“Without trust, it’s game over.”
The data further underscores a widening gap between customer expectations and reality. Forty-five percent of consumers report that companies do not meet service expectations, and only 41% believe service quality has improved over the past year. Eighty percent of consumers believe delivering a good customer experience is easy, underscoring a mismatch between perceived effort and actual business performance.
One reason businesses are falling short is a shift in the standards by which they are judged. Customers no longer compare companies solely to competitors. Instead, they compare every interaction to the best experience they have ever had, regardless of industry, drastically raising the bar for service across the board.
Rudeness is a critical factor in customer attrition, with 82% of customers saying they will leave a brand due to negative interactions. However, Hyken notes that most service failures stem from broken systems rather than employee behavior, making process improvement as important as frontline training.
Phone support remains a strong preference, with 68% of customers favoring a call over self-service, a figure that has remained consistent despite AI and chatbots. Gen Z’s preference for phone support rose from 51% last year to 60%, while Baby Boomers dropped from 88% to 80%. Although AI capabilities continue to grow, inconsistencies across platforms prevent many consumers from relying entirely on automated interactions.
Trust remains a cornerstone of customer loyalty. Eighty-six percent of customers report that excellent service increases trust. Hyken emphasizes that trust and product quality are foundational: without them, loyalty and repeat business are at serious risk. He recommends a simple principle: consistently and predictably deliver on company promises to maintain customer confidence.
Hyken advises businesses to start with the end in mind. Define how the typical customer should feel after each interaction and design internal processes to achieve that outcome. By aligning product reliability, trust and service experience, companies can better meet modern customer expectations and foster lasting loyalty.
