Aspect Reveal Interesting Findings From New Contact Centre Research

Aspect Software, in partnership with Farrell Insight, have released the findings of a national study of 1,100 Americans between 18 and 74 years of age.

The macro objective of this specific study is to investigate the differing and similar attitudes, preferences and behaviours various generations and consumer types have regarding customer touchpoints and engagement.

Key Findings

1. Customers Want EFFECTIVE Experiences. Above all, when customers need to interact with customer service, they want to get it done right.

Making sure the issue is resolved correctly stands out above speed, convenience and even personalization. Coming in second and third were accuracy and security.

The biggest shift year over year is channel choice, falling to the bottom of the rankings and, much to our surprise, this was 100% consistent across all generations.

“While every experience is unique and our customers are often aiming to achieve different outcomes, we thought it was time to take the guesswork out of the equation and invested in a MaxDiff Analysis to determine once and for all — what do customers really want?” said Colleen Sheley, Aspect VP of Marketing.

2. Providing Great Service INCREASES Revenue. Six out of ten consumers have reported doing more business with companies because of good customer service in the past year.

3. Customers Want RELEVANT Outbound Communications. Most customers want organizations they do business with to contact them if they are required to take some form of action.

A majority of customers also want to be contacted about information that may affect or benefit them, but most customers do not want to be contacted for marketing purposes.

In fact, 84% would like to be contacted if their data has been compromised, versus 32% for corporate or organizational news.

4. Self-Service Works for SIMPLE Tasks. Across the board, 72% of respondents prefer to connect with a live agent when interacting with customer service for any task.

For simple tasks, the percentage moves to 58% choosing a live agent.

While customers overwhelmingly prefer to interact with a live agent, there is opportunity for organizations to provide effective self-service for simple tasks to improve customer loyalty.

5. Customers Prefer HAPPY Agents. Happy agents elevate good experiences to great. No matter how fast and effective your service is, a happy agent has the ability to add a positive emotional experience to a service experience.

“The key findings of this report are from the point of view of the consumer. As a technologist, I am always hoping for faster innovation and change,” said Patrick Dennis, Aspect President and CEO.

“As a consumer myself, I completely understand why voice remains king and live agents must be available when consumers need to talk to a real person, not a machine.” 

For the full findings of the 5^th Annual Aspect Consumer Experience Index download the report: Aspect Consumer Index 2020