Here are some interesting stats that we collected to illustrate just how important, and profitable, great customer service can be for your business.

One-third of consumers say they would consider switching companies after just one instance of bad customer service. (nextiva.com)

47% of customers say they’ll stop buying from a company if they have a subpar experience. The same study reveals that 76% of customers now say it’s easier than ever to take their business elsewhere. (salesforce.com)

Research indicates that in the U.S. alone, $62 billion is lost each year due to poor customer service. It’s a mind-blowing figure, especially when you can’t do anything about it. According to another recent study , 91% of customers who are unhappy with a brand will leave without complaining. This process of ‘quiet abandonment’ can adversely affect a company’s image. (salesforce.com)

A customer is four times more likely to buy from a competitor if the problem is service related rather than price or product related ( Bain & Company The majority of Americans have decided not to make a purchase because of a poor customer service experience ( American Express It takes 12 positive customer experiences to make up for one negative experience (Ruby Newell-Legner’s “Understanding Customers” It costs 6-7 times more to attract a new customer than to retain an existing customer ( Kolsky 70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated ( McKinsey & Company 62% of customers say they share their bad experiences with others ( Salesforce Research It’s not all doom and gloom though. The same study by Salesforce showed that 72% of customers will share their good experiences with others. That’s a full 10% more positives than negatives. (salesforce.com)

80% of customers say the experience a company provides is just as important as its products or services. (salesforce.com)

90% of Americans use customer service as a factor in deciding whether or not to do business with a company. ( American Express 2. Investing in new customers is between 5 and 25 times more expensive than retaining existing ones. ( Invesp 3. 49% of American consumers switched companies last year due to poor customer service. ( New Voice Media 4. 81% of Americans believe that business are either meeting or exceeding their customer service expectations. ( American Express (blog.hubspot.com)

73% of customers fall in love with a brand and remain loyal because of friendly customer service reps. ( RightNow 6. 68% of customers said the service rep was key to a recent positive service experience. 62% said that this was also due in part to the rep’s knowledge or resourcefulness. ( American Express 7. Consumers are willing to spend 17% more on a company that has outstanding customer service. ( American Express 8. 77% of customers would recommend a brand to a friend after having a single positive experience. ( Temkin Group 9. 93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases with companies who offer excellent customer service. ( HubSpot Research (blog.hubspot.com)

The #1 reason customers switch to a new brand is feeling unappreciated. ( New Voice Media 11. 50% of customers have left a brand for a competitor who was able to stay more relevant and better satisfy their needs. ( InMoment 12. It takes 12 positive customer experiences to make up for one negative experience. ( Glance 13. 78% of customers have backed out of a purchased due to a poor customer experience. ( Glance (blog.hubspot.com)

84 percent of consumers consider customer service to be a key factor when deciding whether to purchase, and only three percent say it’s unimportant (Zendesk, 2019). (oberlo.com)

Providing good customer service helps to build customers’ trust in your brand. As this next statistic will show, it is an added incentive for customers to return and key to increasing your customer’s lifetime value A whopping 95 percent of consumers say that customer service is important for brand loyalty (Microsoft Dynamics 365, 2018). This is so much so that more than 60 percent of consumers report having deserted a brand and switching to a rival company because of poor customer service. (oberlo.com)

In fact, 68% of the respondents said they would pay more for a product from a company which had a strong record of good customer service. (gladly.com)

54% of customers said they’d rather spend the day in wet socks than repeat themselves. (gladly.com)

62% of customers switched to a competitor with better customer service. (gladly.com)

Adding to this, Adobe recently found that companies with the strongest omni-channel customer engagement strategies enjoy a 10% Y-O-Y growth , a 10% increase in average order value and a 25% increase in close rates . It sounds like a no brainer to invest in CX, right? (superoffice.com)

The study also found that top-performing companies are 50% more likely than their peers to have well-designed user journeys that facilitate clear communication and a seamless transaction. (getfeedback.com)

Takeaway: If you offer some sort of live service (e.g., chat or phone), it’s important to get customers to a live person in less than two minutes. Otherwise it creates frustration that can lead to a seriously unhappy customer. (helpscout.com)

Businesses that prioritize customer experience have a revenue increase of 4-8% higher than their competitor. [Source: (getvoip.com)

Increase customer retention rates by just 5% and profit increases anywhere from 25% to 95%. [Source: (getvoip.com)

Customers who rate a company as delivering a “good” customer experience are 34% more likely to purchase more, and 37% more likely to recommend. [Source: (getvoip.com)

69% of American adults online say that they shop more with businesses whose online and offline customer service is consistent. [Source: (getvoip.com)

Forrester 64% of customers expect to receive real-time assistance regardless of the customer service channel they use. [Source: (getvoip.com)

According to 87% of consumers, brands need to be doing more to provide a seamless experience for their customers. [Source: (getvoip.com)

American Express 68% of customers say that a pleasant customer service representative was fundamental to a positive experience. 62% said that a customer service representative’s knowledge or resourcefulness was the most important factor. [Source: (getvoip.com)

American Express 73% of customers say that the reason they fall in love with a brand is encountering friendly customer service representatives. [Source: (getvoip.com)

“If a customer likes you and continues to like they will continue to do business with you. If they don’t, they won’t.” – Paul Greenberg .  89% of businesses compete through the level of customer experience they’re able to deliver. – Gartner . $1.6 trillion is lost by companies in the United States due to customers switching as a result of poor customer service. – Accenture . 70% of the customer’s journey is dictated by how the customer feels they are being treated. – McKinsey . Businesses that deliver better customer experiences obtain revenues between 4% and 8% above their market. – Bain & Company . 55% of customers are willing to spend more money with a company that guarantees them a satisfying experience. – ThinkJar . 70% of unhappy customers whose problems are resolved are willing to shop with a business again. – Glance . Customer service stats show that new customers costs anywhere between 5 and 25 times more expensive than retaining existing customers. – Harvard Business Review (qminder.com)

All of this means one simple thing: provide the best customer service experience you can. 

You do that by offering excellent communication. 

Answer your phone, emails, chats and texts.

Follow-up with your customers and potential customers routinely.

Keep your customers informed throughout the transaction, if the transaction will take days (such as construction projects).

Error on the side of OVER-communicating.

Enjoy the process of communicating with your clients.

Outsource your customer service as needed.  You cannot do it all.

What are some of your best ways to keep your customer service at a level that goes above and beyond the typical expectations of your clients?