Not unlike most consumers in the U.S., Australian consumers enjoy “channel bouncing” -- the tendency of consumers to use many different customer service channels (e.g., website, phone, email, branch visits) -- to resolve customer service issues, according to the recently published Avaya Asia Pacific Customer Experience Index.
The use of social media increased by 50% over 2012, making it the fastest-growing customer service channel along with mobile applications. Of those people who used social media to contact a company, Facebook was the primary method with more than two thirds (68%) posting directly onto a company’s Facebook page while only 16% tweeted about an issue, tagging the company in the post.
Complaints were the most common query type on social media with 20% of Australians having used Facebook or other social media to complain, while only 10% used the channel to seek help resolving a problem.
Despite the growth of social media and mobile applications, telephone conversations still remain the most popular channel used overall (62%).
Key Australian consumer trends from the 2013 Avaya APAC Customer Experience Index:
Phone conversations with live agents remain the primary customer service channel
Speaking with customer service representatives on the phone is the most popular channel used overall, despite the growth of other non-voice channels
The majority of Australian consumers prefer to use the phone to contact customer service centers over all other methods (64%); Baby Boomers in particular agreed, with 74% preferring the telephone to any other channel
Web self-service channels are expected to increase significantly over the next 12 months
More than a third (35%) of consumers expect their use of web self-service channels to increase in the next year; this is the highest expected increase of all customer service channels
Web self-service was the third most-used channel overall with 41% of Australians having used it in the past three months
Web self-service was most popular (equal with phone conversations) for updating customer details with 73% having used it for this query
Web chat usage has decreased significantly
The use of web chat has decreased from 16% in 2012 to 5% in 2013
Smartphone apps are expected to continue their rise in popularity
The use of smart phone applications for customer service queries grew by 50% (the equal-highest growth along with social media) increasing from 8% last year to 12% this year
More than a quarter (27%) of consumers expected their use of mobile applications to increase in the next 12 months -- which is the second-highest expected increase behind web self-service
Sharing complaints and negative experiences is the primary use of social media in a customer service context
Australians are 66% more likely to post a complaint to social media than any other query type
Facebook is the primary social media platform used to interact with a company with 68% of those who used social media posting their queries directly to a company’s Facebook page
Video chat has a high customer satisfaction rating
92% of Australian consumers who had used video chat in the past three months were happy with the experience (the remaining eight per cent registered their response as neutral)
Gen Y consumers were happier to use a wide range of contact methods
Almost three quarters (71%) of Gen Y consumers were happy to use a wide range of contact methods and were most likely to try to resolve their query personally by using information on the company’s website (66%)
Baby Boomers were happier than Gen X consumers to use a wide range of contact methods (65% versus 57%)
Australian consumers would pay more money for better customer service
More than half (56%) of Australians would pay more money if they always received excellent customer service with 41% saying they would be happy to pay 10% more
91% of consumers would actively advise their friends and family to avoid a company if it gave poor customer service
88% of people would actively avoid buying more products or services from a company that had poor customer service
Consumer use of the automated phone channel has fallen sharply
The use of IVR systems connected to a phone conversation has fallen from 61% last year to just 12% this year
Automated phone channel usage by itself fell from 33% in 2012 to 9% this year
Tim Gentry, Managing Director, Australia/New Zealand, Avaya, said in the report that shows how deeply Australians care about customer service – so much so, that they are willing to pay more for it.
“If I have to sum up the research, it would be that not only do you need a comprehensive means of monitoring and interacting with all major social media channels, but customer service needs to bring all of the different communication channels into one fold and under one philosophy that truly understands Australian consumers and what matters to them,” Gentry said.