Call Center Strategy: Poll Shows That Good Customer Experience Really Pays Off

It’s no big secret: the customer experience consumers face is a major determining factor in whether they’ll continue using a company’s services or turn to a competitor. And a recent poll conducted by Harris Interactive and RightNow Technologies shows that the customer experience does more than just determine who your repeat customers are. It also determines how much they spend.

The results of the poll show that customers are more than willing to pay more if they are met with a superior customer experience. The results show that 85% of surveyed consumers in the U.S. said that they would pay more than the standard price of a good or service as long as they receive outstanding service during the transaction.

The poll breaks down the numbers even further, shining some light on exactly how much more those consumers are willing to pay for a great customer experience. The following statistics show the percentage above the actual costs that those 85% of respondents are willing to pay:

• 76 percent would pay 5 percent or more
• 55 percent would pay 10 percent or more
• 27 percent would pay 15 percent or more
• 10 percent would pay 25 percent or more

So what do all of these numbers mean? According to RightNow CEO Greg Gianforte, “The figures show that despite recent economic challenges, consumers still value a better customer experience and are willing to pay more to guarantee it.”

The lesson to be learned from this survey is just how important the contact center is to the business. Those contact center employees are the people who interact with customers and are ultimately responsible for the level of service they experience. While all departments of an organization work together with the end goal of increasing revenue, this poll shows that the call center plays a bigger role in meeting that goal than many have previously thought.

As Gianforte suggests, companies may be better off pouring more resources into their customer service operations. “Businesses should take note and spend less time and energy on product price wars that devalue their brand and concentrate more on providing a better experience,” he says.

And if you’re a call center manager trying to prove the value of its operations to the organization as a whole, Gianforte provides this ringing endorsement of the call center: “Ultimately a superior customer experience will help to build brand loyalty and have a positive effect on the bottom line.”