The impact of bad customer experience on your business

It’s cornerstone knowledge that good customer service is crucial in keeping a business alive and well. But apart from lost customers, what other impact does a bad customer experience have on your business? This study confirms some common knowledge about customer service but also ties bad customer experience to wider company goals.

The study is summarized in an infographic which is located lower on this page. Scroll to check it out. 

About the study

Around this time last year, the OfficeTeam conducted a study on just over 1000 people who worked in office environments, asking questions like “Would you reach out to a company after a good customer service experience?” and “How often do you experience bad customer service?”. Participants were over 18 years of age and lived in the United States.

How often do people have a bad customer experience?

According to this study, a whopping 42% of participants have at least one bad customer experience every single month.

It’s not clear whether this is measured per brand or if it is a collective estimate but irregardless this statistic is so disheartening. In a time where we can monitor our home security from our phones when we are outside of the country, it’s pretty ridiculous that almost every other person has a negative experience with a company or brand every single month.

However, the bright side is that 75% of participants encountered positive experiences at least once a month. Which means that while it could be worse, there is definitely room for improvement.

Do people give feedback when their experience is good, bad, either or neither?

Much of the knowledge out there suggests that we only here from a customer when they have had a negative experience. However, this study suggests that we are likely to hear from customers that have had either a good or bad experience. According to their study, OfficeTeam found that 71% of people would come with positive feedback after a good experience and a slightly higher 79% would contact a company should they encounter a negative experience.

I find this data to be a little more endearing than other data that suggests that we never hear from customers. But I guess the key takeaway is that we need to be able to create as many relevant touchpoints for feedback as is necessary. It might be that a dissatisfied customer uses different channels compared to a satisfied one and your company needs to be able to respond swiftly and appropriately wherever that may be.

Bad customer experience impacts more than sales

What I love about this study is that the researchers took a really holistic view in the questions they asked. Knowing that bad customer experience impacts more than just sales, OfficeTeam also explored how this affects talent management.

For half of the participants, they found that it only takes one or two bad experiences for them to decide that they wouldn’t work with that company in the future.

That’s a hugely significant finding because it indicates that customer service teams have a direct impact on the company’s future talent prospects. If you reflect on your own customer service teams, can you be sure that you’re not harming your own future talent prospects?

Related: A lesson in exceptional customer experience from Spotify

The key takeaways continue after the infographic so remember to keep scrolling!

Key takeaways

So while some of these findings are a little disappointing, don’t be too discouraged! You just need to check in with your teams to confirm that you have all the right tools in place so that your business can keep on providing great customer experiences.

Does everyone know why good customer experiences are important?

If you’re the founder of your company or work alongside other decision-makers, it can be easy to forget to communicate the visions and missions that you work with on a daily basis. Make sure everyone in the company knows why providing a good experience is vital to the company’s success.

Are your teams connected with common goals?

While this study showed the importance of a customer service team, it also alludes to the importance of a coordinated effort between customer service, sales and marketing. If those three teams are able to work together (ideally, from integrated platforms), your company is well-equipped for success.

Have you given your teams the best software?

A follow up from the previous point but important nonetheless. When your teams work from or with software that best meets their needs, you are going to get a better result no matter what the task. So why would you settle for anything less? Make sure your customer service, sales and marketing teams are using the best platforms and ideally, one that they can all use synchronously.

Ungapped is specifically designed for these three teams – try it out with a free account today. Or see what tools are included in our platform.

This awesome infographic was originally found on marketingprofs.