Just How Important Are Customer Experiences?

This shift isn’t just specific to data services. Help Scout recently compiled data from a variety of sources that found there are a number of reasons that businesses everywhere are implementing more robust customer management solutions.

On average:

• 78% of consumers have left a transaction or not made an intended purchase because of a poor service experience (American Express)
• It costs 6–7 times more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep a current one (White House Office of Consumer Affairs)
• 3–5 customers would try a new brand or company for a better service experience (American Express)
• 91% of unhappy customers will not willingly do business again if they’ve received bad customer service (Lee Resources)

The numbers are astounding. It’s clear that customer experience is a key driver to keep revenue streams flowing. But what about increasing the bottom line?

• The probability of selling to a new prospect is between 5–20%, while the probability of selling to an existing customer is between 60–70% (Marketing Metrics)
• On average, loyal customers are worth up to 10 times as much as their first purchase (White House Office of Consumer Affairs)
• Resolving a complaint in the customer’s favor means they will do business with you again 70% of the time (Lee Resources)

A great customer experience not only reduces churn to keep revenue streams flowing – it actually makes increasing revenue much easier. Unfortunately, statistics show us that most businesses fall short of customer expectations. In general, 75% of customers believe it takes too long to reach a live agent, while 67% of customers hang up their phones out of frustration they could not talk to a real person. These numbers are crucial to any organization that wants to ensure consumer happiness because on average it takes 12 positive experiences to make up for one unresolved negative experience.