The 3 most vital elements of customer service today with Shep Hyken

Shep Hyken, customer experience expert and New York Times best-selling author, recently released the 2022 Achieving Customer Amazement Study. This study surveys consumers to learn more about their preferences and habits. Shep joins Inside Automotive today to discuss the findings.

The ACA surveyed over 1,000 consumers across different demographics, including age, gender, and income level. It is a consumer report that intends to help business owners find out how well they really know their customers. One of the most exciting questions the survey asked consumers was—would you rather call customer support or go to the dentist? 46% of participants said they would rather go to the dentist. Additionally, 42% of people surveyed said they would rather clean a toilet than call customer services.

According to the ACA, 78% of customers go out of their way to do business with a company with better customer service. Hyken explains that long hold-times on customer service are one of the most significant contributors to this sentiment. He says it is so inexpensive to have technology that tells the customer what the wait time is and offers a call-back option. It is the competitive edge that business owners can’t afford to miss.

Other key findings from the study include:

• 74% of customers would switch to a competing brand or company if they found out they provided a better customer experience
• 58% of customers believe great customer service is more important than price
• 83% of customers trust a company or brand more if they provide an excellent customer service experience, up 4% from 2021 (79%)
• 59% of customers think customer service is worse now than before the pandemic
• 75% of customers would switch to a competing brand or company if they found out they were more convenient to do business with

Lastly, and most importantly, the ACA asked consumers which of the following customer service experiences are most likely to cause you to come back? The top three answers, unsurprisingly are:

1. Helpfulness: Customers want service representatives to be courteous and not waste their time. They want customer service staff to commit to help solve their problems.
2. Friendliness: Customers crave empathy and understanding
3. Knowledgable: Not every customer knows the answer they need. They need to know where to go to get the solutions. Customers should be confident in where they seek help.

To learn more, be sure to watch the entire interview above, and to get your copy of “I’ll Be Back” out now, visit IllBeBackBook.com or find it on Amazon.

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