The Genesys study I cited on Jan. 15 also has a version that includes 16 key countries, measuring customer satisfaction and the cost of customer dissatisfaction, and outlining some possible solutions to keeping customers and keeping them satisfied. The main purpose of the study is to continually gain perspective on the changing nature of customer service as well as consumer perceptions of it. This shapes the way companies deliver great customer service.

Surveys were conducted in the following countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Enterprises in these countries (combined) lose an estimated USD $338.5 billion each year due to defections and abandoned purchases as a direct result of a poor customer service experience! Nearly 70% of those surveyed had ended at least one relationship due to poor customer service.

Consumers in Poland, China and Mexico have the largest number of interactions per year with customer service. In countries that have fewer interactions, the responsibility to make each interaction count positively is much heavier on the company.

Amazingly, there are three common threads to the demands of those surveyed. The first two are somewhat related.

“Don’t ask me twice.”

Consumers want better integration between self-service and assisted service, including voice self-service and eServices. They want to be able to start in voice self-service or the Web and get live assistance from an agent, and to start in e-mail and have better integration with agent-assisted service.

“Treat my interactions as a conversation.”

Consumers are demanding the ability to communicate across multiple channels. More than 40% said they would like to see companies deploy at least one new channel of communication with all channels being fully integrated.

“It’s okay to give me a call or ask me if I need help.”

When they are stuck on the Web or in self-service, 86% of consumers said they would find proactive engagement either a “strong benefit” or would see it as “welcome assistance.” The most frequently cited reasons for poor service included being trapped in automated self-service, being forced to wait too long for service, repeating themselves, and dealing with representatives that lacked skills or training to answer their inquiry.

As might be expected voice (by phone with an agent) is still the number one choice of method to solve a problem. However, e-mail and web combined now overtake voice, especially if the communication channels are well integrated.

Consumers overwhelmingly want more proactive outreach, with more than 83% calling it a “strong benefit.” This is the strong suite of customer relationship management software.

They want an easy to use interface for reporting or following an issue. And they want continuity from one channel to another, so that everyone is updated on what has been said and done.