Consumer research finds 68% prefer customer service over digital messaging channels.

Latest research reveals customer service expectations are continuing to rise with 67 per cent of consumers now expecting a response in less than 5 minutes.

London

Today, cloud communications software and solutions specialist IMImobile announces findings of its latest ‘Consumer Interaction Research Report’, looking at customer service experiences and expectations of 1,000 UK consumers.

The research reveals the increasing preference amongst today’s consumers to use mobile and digital messaging channels to submit enquiries, receive answers and engage with customer service teams. With 68 per cent of consumers who had used a messaging channel to contact a business saying they preferred this to using phone or email.

Jay Patel, Chief Executive Officer at IMImobile explained: “We wanted to gain a better understanding of how advanced companies are with their customer service strategies and asked consumers about their recent customer service experiences with UK businesses. In addition, we looked at their perceptions towards digital messaging channels and surveyed their attitudes towards the increasing level of customer service automation through artificial intelligence and chatbots”.

Some key findings of the ‘Consumer Interaction Research Report’ are:

  • Adoption of digital communication channels, especially around customer service is not as advanced as industry sources may suggest – 71 per cent of consumers still use voice over mobile or landline as the main channel of engaging with a business.

  • Consumer expectations are sky high, 67 per cent of customers believe their enquiry should be answered in less than 5 minutes.

  • 78 per cent of consumers would be willing to wait longer for enquiries to be answered provided they get an acknowledgement of their enquiry over digital messaging channels.

  • The majority of consumers, 58 per cent, will embrace customer service automation and the use of artificial intelligence if it results in a more efficient customer service experience.

“We found that there is a huge opportunity for companies to gain a competitive advantage by integrating digital communication channels into their customer experience and service strategy. As consumers value their time more than ever, it is essential that businesses, regardless of what sector, adopt these new channels because ultimately the customer experience they deliver is measured against the digital natives and disruptors of this world”, added Patel.

Notes to editor

The ‘Consumer Interaction Research Report’ was commissioned by IMImobile and carried out by On Device Research. 1,000 smartphone users with an approximate 50/50 gender split were surveyed across all age groups (18 – 55 years) in the UK.

For further information please contact:

Charlotte Jewsbury, Marketing Director. jewsbury@cisco.com
(408) 526-4000

About Webex CPaaS Solutions

Webex CPaaS Solutions (previously known as imimobile) provides cloud communications software and services that manage business-critical customer interactions at scale. 

Our enterprise-grade, cloud communications platform (CPaaS), Webex Connect delivers end-to-end customer journeys by orchestrating, automating, and monitoring interactions and integrating with existing, disparate back-end systems. This provides a choice of tools and capabilities for IT teams, developers and line of business teams to build seamless customer experiences

We also provide a set of SaaS applications designed specifically for business users who are looking for pre-packaged applications for use within their organization; these include Webex Campaign, Webex Engage, Webex Notify and Webex Assist.

To put it simply, we help businesses to lower costs, reduce complexity and accelerate IT roadmaps. We believe that customer experience is the key competitive advantage for consumer businesses. So, we’re creating a world where enterprises can stay constantly connected to their customers. A world where every touchpoint, on every channel, is an opportunity to deliver rich, engaging, intuitive experiences.