What Are The Business Consequences of Bad Customer Service? [Infographic]

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When distributing Aircall’s 2019 eCommerce Customer Service Experience Study, we knew our analysis would not be complete unless we addressed factors brands could feel across multiple business departments.

More specifically, what is the broader impact of bad customer service?

With more concrete data surrounding this topic, we suspect support pros may have more success inspiring customer experience conversations (and improvements) across their organizations.

What are the consequences of a bad customer experience?

1. The Power of Social Media

2. Word of Mouth is Still Impactful

3. Switching to Competitors

4. Share the Infographic

5. Get the Full Report

The Power of Social Media

You no longer need a degree in journalism or a column in a weekly newspaper to have your voice heard. Social media makes the spread of negative (and positive) customer service experiences known in real time.

Almost ⅓ of online shoppers will share their experiences with a brand on social media, according to our research. And unfortunately, negative shares gain traction much more quickly than their positive counterparts.

Diligent customer service will prevent these negative opinions from forming in the first place, but it’s also important for brands to have an active social media presence to address public grievances in a respectful and proactive manner.

Paradoxically, there’s mounting (external) evidence to suggest the process of solving a customer’s issues and inquiries can actually build customer loyalty better than a perfectly seamless experience. (Public displays of this extra effort can travel far on social media as well.)

Word of Mouth is Still a Force

Social media gets a lot of attention, but even more impactful is what customers say to their close contacts.

While 31% of online shoppers will share service experiences on social media in some capacity, nearly 60% will relay their experiences to friends and loved ones.

Online reviews are important for informing buyers’ decisions, but learning of a negative or positive experience from a trusted source, face-to-face, is also directly impactful.

Switching to Competitors

It looks like there’s no better way to send your customers running toward your competitors’ arms (websites) than a negative customer service experience.

Our research shows that ⅔ of online shoppers will stop purchasing from a brand after a bad customer service interaction.

Furthermore, nearly half of online shoppers will decide to make future purchases from a competitor. Whether your product is B2C or B2B, poor customer service experiences can lead to thousands of dollars in lost revenue over time.

Shareable Infographic

Get the Full Research Report

If you found these insights to be interesting, check out our full 2019 eCommerce Customer Service Experience Study. We’ve gone in-depth to discover exactly what online shoppers feel about their eCommerce service interactions.

• Which customer service options to shoppers find easiest to use?

• How long are customers willing to wait for a representative?

• What do online shoppers thing are the most important aspects of good service?

The report seeks to answer these questions and more.

Download the full report here:

Published on April 24, 2019.