Almost any customer service interaction entails some degree of effort on the part of customers. They've identified a problem with their products or services and have to take action to resolve the issue. Gartner research finds that reducing that effort has a big impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty. Only 9 percent of customers who had low-effort service experiences were likely to change vendors or merchants, compared to 96 percent who had high-effort service interactions.
Rather than trying to delight customers with exceptional or unique experiences, customers reward businesses the most for ruthlessly identifying and removing effort from each step in a service experience.
Many customer service and support leaders are already focused on reducing customer effort: Gartner research shows that 59 percent of customer service and support leaders say that delivering a seamless customer journey is one of their top three priorities.
But this is a moving target, businesses launch new services and products, and the nature of service interactions change. To improve customers' overall experiences, customer service and support leaders should continuously scrutinize each phase of the customer journey.
Phase 1: Before the Service Interaction
Proactive customer service has many strengths but is often flawed in its execution, leading to customer confusion. Gartner research shows two-thirds of customers contact companies after receiving proactive outreach, and 45 percent of these are for avoidable or undesirable reasons, such as needing additional information.>
When carrying out proactive outreach, customer service leaders should focus on clarity, confirmation, and credibility. Proactive outreach should aim to anticipate questions and confirm resolution, so customers don't feel the need to follow up or ask additional questions. Avoiding confusion should be the goal, and proactive outreach should be reserved for urgent issues.
Customer effort is also introduced before the service interaction occurs when customers are gathering information themselves. Gartner research shows that 66 percent of Gen-Z and 55 percent of millennials turn first to third-party sources, such as search or online videos, when trying to resolve service issues, a trend we see in both B2B and B2C interactions. However, third-party sources can offer misleading or confusing information that can lead to customer frustration.
Customer service leaders should take a more direct role in shaping the information and resources that customers see on third-party sites. This can be achieved through search engine optimization to ensure that search results lead customers to the right content, including self-service resources, and not only the company's phone number.
Phase 2: During the Service Interaction
Customer effort is often introduced when it comes to using self-service. Gartner research shows that customers are willing to use self-service: Almost half say they'd prefer to solve their issues themselves rather than by contacting an agent. However, customers lack confidence in the ability of self-service to resolve their issues, often choosing to call instead.
Switching channels from self-service to assisted introduces friction and unnecessary effort. According to a Gartner survey, customers who switch service channels are twice as likely to repeat information. Repeating information can lead to frustration, a 15 percent to 23 percent increase in customer effort, depending on the service channel used. Furthermore, the added time spent repeating this information increases the cost of the interaction.
Customer service and support leaders must provide more guidance for customers when it comes to using self-service. Show customers that they can easily shift to an agent if they need more help. Leaders often focus on self-service containment, but that can feel like a trap and can dissuade customers from using these tools in the future. Instead, lay out the choices that customers have and the steps they should follow.
Leaders can reduce the likelihood of customers needing to repeat themselves by allowing customers to document their self-service interaction and pass the information to an agent. Use this information to route customers to the best channel or agent for their issues, give the agent a leg up on the customers' needs, and avoid agents wasting time walking customers through steps they've already tried.
Phase 3: After the Service Interaction
After the interaction is complete, many customers find that a request for feedback is the final point of friction in the experience, as evidenced by low response rates. Despite these low rates, nearly a third of B2C customers and almost two-thirds of B2B customers say they provided feedback. So why the discrepancy? Customers are providing feedback through other channels, such as sharing it with a rep directly, or posting an online review. Customer service leaders often miss out on this important indirect feedback.
To improve the situation, look beyond surveys to glean customer feedback. The problem with surveys is that they leave you with blindspots—you're not going to learn about things that you didn't think to ask. Take advantage of a wider range of indirect and inferred feedback, such as speech, text, and digital analytics, to cast a wide net across your customer interactions and root out unanticipated pain points.
By re-examining all three phases of the customer journey and seeking out sources of unnecessary effort for customers, service and support leaders can reduce friction and deliver a seamless experience that improves customer satisfaction.
Eric Keller is senior director of research in the Gartner Customer Service & Support Practice.