In compiling this year’s report, the research team surveyed CX leaders at more than 160 organizations from around the globe, constituting the largest research cohort since the CXMB Series first launched in 2012. Survey participants were asked roughly 120 questions in the areas of operational best practices and strategic objectives, producing a wealth of industry-related insights, including these highlights:

• 50% of respondents indicated they undertook a fast-tracking of strategic objectives as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic

• 62% of respondents indicated they would not revert to pre-pandemic staffing models, even after things return to “normal”

• 55% of respondents felt the performance of remotely trained agents was comparable to in-center trained agents, whereas 9% thought performance was better, and 29% thought performance was worse

• 82% of respondents believe they have a good understanding of which channels their customers prefer to use (up from 57% in 2019)

“To say the past year has presented our community with unique challenges and opportunities is a significant understatement,” said Chad McDaniel, President and Co-Founder of Execs In The Know. “The release of the CXMB Series 2020 Corporate Edition report is a valuable step in unpacking and understanding how our community responded to a very challenging and thought-provoking year. We are deeply appreciative to every brand and individual that participated in this year’s survey, and we are grateful to be in a position to present this research to the industry.”

The 2020 Corporate Edition report is one half of the CXMB Series, a bi-annual research project that includes both consumer and corporate perspectives, each in their respective editions. The CXMB Series is produced as a result of a research partnership between Execs In The Know and COPC Inc. and has been published on an ongoing basis since 2012. You can learn more about the CXMB Series, and download previous volumes at no cost, by visiting the Execs In The Know CXMB Series page.

This year’s Corporate Edition report was released during CustomerCONNECT, February 23–24, 2021. CustomerCONNECT is an innovative, fully virtual event designed to bring together the world’s foremost customer experience executives for an extraordinary opportunity to learn, share, network, and engage to innovate for an improved customer experience. For those who missed the live broadcast of CustomerCONNECT, the entire event is currently available on-demand. To gain access to this on-demand content, simply register here.

Are you a CX executive leading care operations at a top brand? Consider becoming a part of Execs In The Know’s prestigious community of customer experience leaders where you can discuss insights such as those found in the CXMB Series, and networking with fellow CX leaders. To learn more about Execs In The Know’s “Know It All” (KIA) Online Community, visit the community site.

About Execs In The Know

Execs In The Know brings together customer experience (CX) leaders from across industries in an effort to advance the conversation and set a new agenda for delivering amazing experiences for consumers. As a global community of the brightest minds in CX, Execs In The Know provides opportunities to learn, share, network, and engage to innovate. Operating under the motto of “Leaders Learning From Leaders,” Execs In The Know facilitates many opportunities for community engagement, such as their bi-annual national event, Customer Response Summit, virtual CX series, CustomerCONNECT, and private, online community, Know It All. There are also exclusive, laser-focused engagements like industry briefings, virtual luncheons, and executive roundtables. Execs In The Know also guides and informs the industry with a rich tapestry of CX-related content that includes CX Insight magazine, CXMB Series research, webinars, podcasts, blogs, and much more.

The post Execs In The Know & COPC Inc. Partner to Release the CXMB Series 2020 Corporate Edition Report appeared first on Execs In The Know.

PHOENIX, Ariz., March 12, 2020 — Global customer experience industry leaders Execs In The Know and customer experience consulting firm COPC Inc. have announced the release of the 2019 Corporate Edition of the Customer Experience Management Benchmark (CXMB) Series. This new installment of the series has corralled relevant year-over-year data to highlight areas of strategic insights, channel results, and operational insights of nearly 70 survey participants, representing some of the world’s largest and most successful brands. In this release, new questions have been added in the Staffing and Technology sections to include and expand the insights on hot topics, including “gig agents,” “universal agents,” and artificial intelligence.

Key insights from the 2019 CXMB Series Corporate Edition report include:

• 76% of survey respondents feel their organization generally does a good job of meeting customer needs and expectations – this is the lowest result since this question was first asked in 2014
• Only 40% of respondents indicated “Improve the Customer Experience” as their leadership’s top priority in the previous 12 months, down from 63% in 2017
• When asked what percentage of customer care engagements were occurring within each channel, 62% was the average response given for Traditional Care – the lowest average in 6 years of data
• Only 57% of survey respondents felt their companies had a good understanding of which channels customers preferred to use, down from 69% in 2018
• In 2019, 22% of respondents said a percentage of their customer care budget was dedicated to AI-powered solutions, with an average dedication of 14% of budget, up from 6% in 2018
• The reported resolution rate for AI-powered solutions showed a dramatic increase year-over-year, with 27% of respondents indicating a resolution rate of 70% or better in 2019, up from 17% of respondents in 2018

“This year’s edition paints a picture of great opportunity and dramatic change, with the new questions providing eye-opening insights for our audience,” said Chad McDaniel, President and Co-Founder, Execs In The Know. “While trending data is insightful to understand change over time, these new questions can fuel a strategy especially when cross referenced with the Consumer Edition data, and we are excited to share that with the industry.”

The 2019 Corporate Edition is the eighth consecutive year of reporting on corporate strategies and best practices and includes comparisons between the Consumer and Corporate Editions of the CXMB Series. This two-pronged approach reveals important findings on topics such as meeting consumer needs and expectations, channel consistency within the multichannel experience, and the impact of proactive follow-ups. The full 2019 Corporate Edition is available here.

If you are a CX executive at a consumer brand and interested in becoming a part of our prestigious community of customer experience leaders to discuss insights such as those found in the CXMB report and networking with fellow CX leaders, you can request to join the Know It All (KIA) Online Community here: https://community.execsintheknow.com

About Execs In The Know

Execs In The Know (EITK) is a global community of customer experience (CX) professionals focused on excellence in customer experience. Execs In The Know gives brands a platform to share and gain insights, benchmark their brand, stay on top of the latest trends in CX, and create lasting relationships with their peers – “Leaders Learning From Leaders.” Execs In The Know holds numerous live events each year including Customer Response Summit, Subject Matter Briefings, Lunch & Learns, and Leadership Dinners. The company also offers industry content and thought leadership through webinars, reports, a quarterly CX insight Magazine, the Know It All “KIA” Online Community, and various social media groups. To learn more about Execs In The Know visit: www.execsintheknow.com.

About COPC Inc.
COPC Inc. provides consulting, training, certification and the RevealCX™ software solution for operations that support the customer experience. The company created the COPC Standards, a collection of performance management systems for call center operations, customer experience management, vendor management, and procurement. Founded in 1996, COPC Inc. began by helping call centers improve their performance. Today, the company is an innovative global leader that empowers organizations to optimize operations for the delivery of a superior service journey. COPC Inc. is headquartered in Winter Park, FL, U.S. and with operations in Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America, India and Japan. To learn more about COPC Inc., visit www.copc.com.

Media Contacts:
Gina Morkel
Director Marketing & Communications, Execs In The Know
480-721-8391
gina@execsintheknow.com

Jim Von Seggern
Senior Marketing Director, COPC
586-217-8480
jvonseggern@copc.com

The post Execs In The Know & COPC Inc. Partner to Release the 2019 Corporate Edition of the Customer Experience Benchmark Series appeared first on Execs In The Know.

The report is aimed at providing insights into consumer opinions and behaviors, specific to the financial services industry. Topics in this report include customer care experiences, channel use, customer effort, quality of care, privacy, and a comparison on U.S. and Canadian customers.

The infographic below highlights a few key findings, but you can also download the full complimentary report here. 

The post CXMB Industry Insights: Financial Services – Select Findings [INFOGRAPHIC] appeared first on Execs In The Know.

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – April 3, 2018 – Advocates for customer experience professionals, Execs In The Know and COPC Inc., have announced the release of the 2017 Corporate Edition of the Customer Experience Management Benchmark (CXMB) Series. The 11^th volume in the series, titled The CX Journey: Strategic and Operational Insights, provides an understanding of the current CX landscape. Specific areas of expanded exploration include channel consistency, quality programs, and CX priorities for corporate professionals. Traditional Care (phone, email, and in-person), Interactive Care (online/video chat, FAQ, and self-help), Social Media Care (Twitter, Facebook, forums, etc.), and Mobile Care (apps, text/SMS, and mobile chat) are all explored.

Key Insights from the 2017 Corporate Survey:

– Only 50% of respondents answered “Yes” when asked, “Is your company’s leadership fully committed to a customer-first strategy?”

– Thirty-four percent of respondents didn’t believe their company had a good understanding of which channels their customers preferred, nor how these preferences differed from current channel offerings.

– Interest and investment in chatbots and artificial intelligence (AI) exploded in 2017, with more than a threefold increase in the percentage of brands naming chatbots and AI as the technology of most interest and/or investment.

– Only 14% of respondents felt their brands were doing a good job of providing a consistent customer experience across channels and solutions, while only half of brands (51%) had any initiatives to create greater consistency.

The CXMB Series is a resource for customer care professionals, looking to enhance their customer care program, improve brand opinion, and drive customer satisfaction. Brands such as Marriott, Blue Rock Energy, The Mine, The Home Depot, LinkedIn, Hyatt, Desjardins, CIBC, Williams-Sonoma, Inc., and more participated in this year’s survey.

“The leaders in the Execs In The Know community truly display a customer-first commitment in everything they do,” said Chad McDaniel, President and CEO of Execs In The Know. “Our goal with every edition in the CXMB Series, is to help brands better understand the consumer, validating investments and identifying possible areas of improvement. We are thrilled to provide this resource to our community, to further assist them in the pursuit of customer service excellence.”

“We are honored to play an ongoing role in the creation of this valuable industry research. We hope this work will continue to enlighten and inspire,” said Kathleen Jezierski, COO of COPC Inc. “We’d also like to thank the many brands that participated in this year’s survey. Their experience and expertise is what makes this report possible.”

The full 2017 Corporate Edition is available for purchase at https://execsintheknow.com/cxmbseries/2017-corporate-edition/.

About Execs In The Know

Execs In The Know is a global community of customer experience professionals, from various industry verticals, all focused on the same thing – excellence in customer service and experience. Execs In The Know gives brands a platform to share and gain insights, benchmark their brand, stay on top of the latest trends in CX, and create lasting relationships with their peers – “Leaders Learning From Leaders.”

Execs In The Know holds their national event – Customer Response Summit – twice a year (in the Spring and Fall), giving executives the opportunity to connect face-to-face. They also hold a number of other live regional events throughout the year including Subject Matter Briefings (on topics like social media, AI, SMS, outsourcing, etc.), Lunch & Learns, Workshops, and EITK Dinners. The community is able to stay engaged long after the events come to an end through industry content and thought leadership, webinars, reports, and various social communities.

To learn more about Execs In The Know, visit www.ExecsInTheKnow.com.

About COPC Inc.

COPC Inc. provides consulting, training, certification and the RevealCX™ software solution for operations that support the customer experience. The company created the COPC Standards, a collection of performance management systems for call center operations, customer experience management, vendor management, and procurement. Founded in 1996, COPC Inc. began by helping call centers improve their performance. Today, the company is an innovative global leader that empowers organizations to optimize operations to deliver a superior customer experience across all channels. COPC Inc. is privately held with headquarters in Winter Park, FL, U.S. and with operations in Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America, India and Japan.

COPC will also be giving an educational pre-conference seminar at CRS Denver in September, 2019.

For more information, visit www.copc.com.

Media Contacts

Alyssa Pitura
Director of Marketing and Brand Experience
alyssa@execsintheknow.com
www.execsintheknow.com
@ExecsInTheKnow

Lezli Harrell
Vice President, Marketing
COPC Inc.
lharrell@copc.com
www.copc.com

The post Execs In The Know & COPC Inc. Publish 2017 Corporate Edition in Customer Experience Management Benchmark Series appeared first on Execs In The Know.

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – November 16, 2017 – Global leaders in the customer experience industry, Execs In The Know and COPC Inc., have announced the release of the 2017 Consumer Edition of the Customer Experience Management Benchmark (CXMB) Series. The report provides compelling insights into key areas of consumer expectations, opinions and perceptions in using multiple channels for customer care. Traditional Care (phone, email, and in-person), Interactive Care (online/video chat, FAQ, and self-help), Social  Media Care (Twitter, Facebook, forums, etc.), and Mobile Care (apps, text/SMS, and mobile chat) are all explored.

Key Insights from the 2017 Consumer Survey:

– After two consecutive years of solid improvements, consumer opinion toward customer care’s ability to meet needs and expectations has flattened

– With results going back to 2014, 2017 saw the lowest percentage of consumers avoiding interacting with customer care

– Whether or not consumers self-select the multi-channel approach (as opposed to being forced into it) continues to have a profound impact on resolution and satisfaction rates for multichannel engagements

– In-Person Shoppers place far more value on good customer service than Online Shoppers

The Consumer Edition of the CXMB series is a resource for customer care professionals, looking to enhance their customer care program, improve brand opinion, and drive customer satisfaction. The 2017 Consumer Edition is the fifth consecutive year of reporting on findings of U.S. consumers, in all age groups and geographic regions. The survey findings provide both an overview of the entire customer care experience and insights regarding specific channels, as well as two new sections about the purchase experience and customer effort.

“The 2017 Consumer Edition of the CXMB Series is our most comprehensive to date,” said Chad McDaniel, President and CEO of Execs In The Know. “With every CXMB Series edition we continue to expand questions and sections that are important to today’s CX Professional, in addition to comparing data over the years to identify trends and patterns. Our community find the reports highly valuable and love using these insights to benchmark, learn, and plan their future approach.”

The full 2017 Consumer Edition is available at https://execsintheknow.com/cxmbseries/2017-consumer-edition/.

About Execs in the Know

For over 15 years, Execs in the Know has built a reputation of excellence in the Customer Management Industry and a worldwide community of over 50,000 Customer Experience Professionals. Execs in the Know connects people to engaging industry content, thought leadership, current trends, peer-to-peer collaboration, networking, and industry employment opportunities. Examples of this can be seen at their Customer Response Summit events, roadshows, webinars, workshops, Blog Talk Radio segments, Industry Benchmarking Series, blogs, thought papers, and social communities.

To learn more about Execs in the Know, visit www.execsintheknow.com. For more information on their Customer Management Recruitment Solutions, visit www.justcareers.com.

About COPC Inc.

COPC Inc. provides consulting, training, certification and the RevealCX™ software solution for operations that support the customer experience. The company created the COPC Standards, a collection of performance management systems for call center operations, customer experience management, vendor management, and procurement. Founded in 1996, COPC Inc. began by helping call centers improve their performance. Today, the company is an innovative global leader that empowers organizations to optimize operations to deliver a superior customer experience across all channels. COPC Inc. is privately held with headquarters in Winter Park, FL, U.S. and with operations in Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America, India and Japan. To learn more about COPC Inc., visit www.copc.com.

For more information, visit www.copc.com.

Media Contacts

Alyssa Pitura
Director of Marketing and Brand Experience
alyssa@execsintheknow.com
www.execsintheknow.com
@ExecsInTheKnow

Lezli Harrell
Vice President, Marketing
COPC Inc.
lharrell@copc.com
www.copc.com

The post Execs In The Know & COPC Inc. Release 2017 Consumer Edition in Customer Experience Management Benchmark Series appeared first on Execs In The Know.

To download the full CXMB Industry Insights: Retail report, click here.

The post CXMB Industry Insights: Retail – Select Findings [INFOGRAPHIC] appeared first on Execs In The Know.

CXMB Industry Insights: Retail is aimed at providing insights into consumer opinions and behaviors, specific to the retail industry. Topics in this report include comparisons between online and in-store shoppers in the areas of pre-purchase research, shopping, customer care, drivers of mobile device shoppers, and the multi-channel experience.

Findings reveal differences and similarities between online and in-store shoppers when it comes to the customer journey. Among the most popular methods of issue resolution — in-person, phone and email — online shoppers prefer to resolve issues via email, while in-store shoppers strongly prefer to resolve issues in person. However, both groups had low preference for self-serve solutions, including self-help and automated tools.

Additionally, responses between online and in-store shoppers are strikingly consistent when respondents describe what is most important to them when interacting with a retailer to resolve an issue. Customers want agents who provide clear communication, listen patiently, understand the issue, express empathy, and are empowered to break away from the script to get issues resolved.

Survey Insights:

– In the event of a customer care issue, 68 percent of online shoppers and 75 percent of in-store shoppers would rather interact with a human versus a self-help system to resolve the issue.

– Among consumers who frequently shop from their mobile device, 44 percent would choose email as their preferred communication method with a brand compared to just six percent who would choose a phone call as their preferred communication method.

– Thirty-five percent of survey respondents think retail companies do a better job of providing a positive customer experience compared to other industries.

“We know retail brands have a huge opportunity to differentiate themselves by providing an exceptional customer experience. We conducted this survey to show real customer needs and to provide actionable data that all retailers should consider to improve customer satisfaction and increase loyalty,” said Kathleen Jezierski, chief operating officer, COPC Inc.

CXMB Industry Insights: Retail is the second in a series of industry-specific reports and is an extension of the Customer Experience Management Benchmark (CXMB) Series, also published in partnership between COPC Inc. and Execs In The Know. The first industry-specific report examined travel and hospitality and is available here.

“CXMB Industry Insights allows us to dive deeper into various industries and provide relevant insights that our community members in each vertical are seeking,” said Chad McDaniel, president, Execs In The Know. “Our retail survey offers information about consumer perceptions, expectations and behaviors so that our community can have a better understanding of the customer landscape in online and brick-and-mortar retail.”

For more information about the findings of this retail research or the CXMB Industry Insights survey series, contact Judi Brenstein, vice president, COPC Inc., at jbrenstein@copc.com.

 About COPC Inc.

COPC Inc. is an innovative global leader that empowers organizations to manage complex customer journeys.  The company created the COPC Customer Experience (CX) Standard and provides consulting, training and certification for operations that support the customer experience. Founded in 1996, COPC Inc. began by helping call centers improve their performance.  Today, the company works with leading brands worldwide to optimize key customer touchpoints and deliver a seamless experience across channels. COPC Inc. is privately held with headquarters in Winter Park, FL, U.S. and has operations in Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America, India and Japan.

COPC will also be giving an educational pre-conference seminar at CRS Denver in September, 2019.

To learn more about COPC Inc., visit www.copc.com.

About Execs In The Know

For over 15 years, Execs In The Know has built a reputation of excellence in the Customer Management Industry and a worldwide community of over 50,000 Customer Experience Professionals. Execs In The Know connects people to engaging industry content, thought leadership, current trends, peer-to-peer collaboration, networking and industry employment opportunities. Examples of this can be seen at their Customer Response Summit events, roadshows, webinars, workshops, Blog Talk Radio segments, Industry Benchmarking Series, blogs, thought papers and social communities. For more information, visit www.execsintheknow.com.

The post COPC Inc. and Execs In The Know Publish Retail Customer Experience Research Insights appeared first on Execs In The Know.

The following is a guest blog post by Jeff Toister,  Founder of Toister Performance Solutions, Inc. Click here to view the original post on the Toister Solutions website. 

The post Three Social Media Trends in Customer Care appeared first on Execs In The Know.

PHOENIX, AZ. April 10, 2017 – Following the recent release of the 2016 Customer Experience Management Benchmark (CXMB) Series Corporate Edition, Execs In The Know and COPC Inc. will be in Sunnyvale, California, on April 19, 2017, to host a CXMB Workshop. This exclusive, one-day event will be held at LinkedIn and offers customer experience professionals the chance to gather and share their challenges, successes and insights, while also making lasting connections in their local area.

The highlights of both the 2016 Consumer and Corporate Edition reports will be discussed in depth by COPC.

A few highlights from the findings:

– Although consumer opinion towards customer care has improved, gaps between consumer and corporate perception remain

– Preference for and use of Traditional Care slips, Email surprises and Mobile Care shines

– Consumer preference for live interactions over automated interactions remains strong, but companies continue to shift care away from live interactions and into automated channels

– Forced channel changes have a negative impact on both resolution and satisfaction rates

The featured speakers at the Workshop will be Scott Shute, VP of Global Customer Operations and Mark Quinn, Senior Director, Product Operations at LinkedIn. Scott is also a valued member of the 2017 Execs In The Know Corporate Advisory Board. Their keynote will focus on the Voice of the Customer at LinkedIn, how to best understand the needs of your customers, and tailor your customer experience.

In addition to the featured speakers highlighted above, there will also be presentations from subject matter experts on “Transforming From Customer Support to Customer Success” and “Keys for Personalized, Effortless Omnichannel Journeys”.

If you can’t attend the event, but are interested in obtaining either the CXMB Series 2016 Consumer Edition, or 2016 Corporate Edition, visit execsintheknow.com/resources/cxmb-series/.

About Execs In The Know

For over 15 years, Execs In The Know has built a reputation of excellence in the Customer Management Industry and a worldwide community of over 50,000 Customer Experience Professionals. Execs In The Know connects people to engaging industry content, thought leadership, current trends, peer-to-peer collaboration, networking, and industry employment opportunities. Examples of this can be seen at their Customer Response Summit events, roadshows, webinars, workshops, Blog Talk Radio segments, Industry Benchmarking Series, blogs, thought papers, and social communities.

To learn more about Execs In The Know, visit https://execsintheknow.com. For more information on their Customer Management Recruitment Solutions, visit www.justcareers.com.

 About COPC Inc.

COPC Inc. is an innovative global leader that empowers organizations to manage complex customer journeys.  The company created the COPC Customer Experience (CX) Standard and provides consulting, training and certification for operations that support the customer experience. Founded in 1996, COPC Inc. began by helping call centers improve their performance.  Today, the company works with leading brands worldwide to optimize key customer touchpoints and deliver a seamless experience across channels. COPC Inc. is privately held with headquarters in Winter Park, FL, U.S. and has operations in Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America, India and Japan.

For more information, please visit www.copc.com.

Media Contact

Alyssa Pitura
Director of Marketing and Brand Experience
info@execsintheknow.com
www.execsintheknow.com
@ExecsInTheKnow

The post Execs In The Know and COPC Inc. Hold 2017 CXMB Series Workshop in California at LinkedIn appeared first on Execs In The Know.

Social media is still an immature customer service channel.

That’s apparent when reading the latest Customer Experience Benchmark report from Execs In The Know and COPC, Inc. This report is the 2015 Corporate Edition and was published in 2016.

I previously analyzed their 2013 report and their 2014 report and came to the same conclusion each year. Most companies still don’t get social media as a customer service channel.

Six years ago, I did my own tiny social media study. That’s back when the Starbucks Twitter profile said that some guy named Brad did the tweeting. Things are pretty much the same as even back then. (Except for Brad. I’m not sure what happened to him.)

In this year’s report, I did see a glimmer of hope that more companies are starting to catch on. Social media customer service is still far from maturity, but it might be entering it’s adolescent years.

Below are three of the more interesting trends revealed in the report. You can also purchase the full report from Execs In The Know. It’s full of intriguing insights on social media plus more traditional channels (phone, email, etc.) and emerging channels like self-service and chat.

Trend #1: Ownership

More customer service teams are getting involved, and they’re getting more resources to do it. It still isn’t great. Here’s the breakdown of who owns the social media function:

Customer service has sole or joint ownership of social media in 54 percent of companies surveyed. That’s up from 50 percent last year.

The percentage of companies that give their social media agents training is also up, though not quite as high as it was in 2013.

Side note:

What the heck are companies doing that aren’t training their employees?! I can just see those managers now.

“Hey Kayla. You’re a millennial, right?! Don’t all you millennials get social media and stuff? Well, you’re in charge now.”

I digress.

The other good news is that 60 percent of companies surveyed expected their budget to increase. Only 27 percent of companies surveyed last year planned to increase their budget.

Trend #2: New Channels

Twitter and Facebook remain the big dogs when it comes to social media customer service.

There are other sites like Pintrest, Instagram, and LinkedIn that have millions of users but haven’t really caught on for customer service.

However, there are a few alternative social media channels that are increasing. The chart below compares each channel’s share of social media engagements in 2015 vs 2014.

Here, it’s helpful to remind ourselves what constitutes social media. This is the definition from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary:

forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos)

What types of sites are in these three growing categories?

• Forums include online support communities like this Apple site.
• Review site examples include Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google My Business.
• Blogs posts can engage customers too, like this sample post from Alaska Airlines.

So, the real trick for companies is figuring out where their customers are trying to interact with them and then establishing a service presence in those channels.

Trend #3: Maturity Is Still Low

If something stays the same, does that constitute a trend?

I’m going to say yes. It’s important to acknowledge that many companies are struggling to serve their customers via social media.

Just 20 percent of survey respondents felt their social media customer service was mature or very mature.

This is going to pose a problem for two reasons. First, social media volume is increasing. The survey found that social media volume increased in 77 percent of companies.

Second, companies are struggling to keep up with this volume. I examined this 2015 multichannel study from Eptica to learn about social media response rates.

Here’s how the top 500 U.S. retailers fared via Twitter, Facebook, and email:

Yikes! Do these brands hate their customers?

Seriously, brands. I say this with sincerity and affection: If you aren’t going to respond to your customers on social media (or email?!) then shut down your account.

It’s social + media. Not media. Sheesh.

Here, I suspect companies are lying to themselves. They think they are awesome when they’re not. (I recently wrote about overconfidence causing service failures.)

There are three data points that support this assertion.

First, the Customer Experience Benchmark found that improving the quality of care was a top priority for contact centers for the second year in a row.

Second, the report also found that 79 percent of companies think they’re meeting the needs of their customers, but only 33 percent of customers surveyed agree.

Finally, there’s Gartner’s famous stat that 89 percent of companies expect customer experience to be their primary basis for competition in 2016.

It’s hard to believe we’re entering a new age of customer service awesome if companies aren’t even responding to basic inquiries. Maybe that’s why retail customer satisfaction continues to drop.

One Last Trend

There’s one last trend that I think explains a lot.

Take a look at Domo’s 2015 Social CEO Report. They looked at Fortune 500 CEOs to see which ones had a presence on social media.

Their sad finding is 61 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs have no presence on social media. It’s hard to believe that social media will get the attention it deserves if CEOs don’t understand it.

The post Here’s What’s New In Social Media Customer Service appeared first on Execs In The Know.